Japan’s first navigation satellite gets into position

Japan’s first navigation satellite has reached position above Japan and will be used to improve GPS coverage in mountainous terrain and urban canyons.
March 1, 2012 Read time: 1 min

Japan’s first navigation satellite has reached position above Japan and will be used to improve GPS coverage in mountainous terrain and urban canyons.

The Michibiki satellite, positioned some 33,000 kms over Japan, will undergo three months of testing and commissioning before it enters service. Japan is planning to launch a further two satellites, depending on the performance of the first unit in space.

Location Based Systems

Related Content

  • July 25, 2012
    Professional navigation and routing
    Cobra Electronics has launched the 7700 PRO, a GPS navigation and routing tool specifically tailored to the needs of truck drivers in the US. Cobra has partnered with ProMiles Software Development Corporation and TruckDown Info International to include over 33,000 industry-leading truck-specific Points Of Interest (POIs) such as routable travel centre locations, detailed amenity information, fuelling stations, restaurants, heavy-duty towing, truck and trailer repair shops, truck-friendly hotels and weigh sc
    Read More
  • March 1, 2012
    Royal academy report warns of over-reliance on global satellite navigation systems
    Society may already be dangerously over-reliant on satellite radio navigation systems like GPS, the Royal Academy of Engineering warns in a report published yesterday. The range of applications using the technology is now so broad that, without adequate independent backup, signal failure or interference could potentially affect safety systems and other critical parts of the economy.
    Read More
  • July 23, 2012
    Improving the positional accuracy of GNSS road user charging
    The European GINA project is intended to address and overcome many of the institutional, technical and public acceptance hurdles currently faced by satellite-based road user charging schemes. Dave Tindall and Denis Naberezhnykh, TRL, and Laure Dezes, ERF, write. Pay-as-you-drive Road User Charging (RUC), whereby demand (or congestion) is managed by applying appropriate tariffs in order to encourage drivers to make their journeys at less busy times, on less congested routes or even on different modes, could
    Read More
  • March 15, 2012
    Satellite based goods vehicle tracking comes a step closer
    A project aimed at proving the viability of satellite-based goods tracking in Europe has come to a close – establishing everything necessary for commercial services to flourish. A landmark stage was reached in tracking of goods across Europe in December last year, with conclusion of the Scutum project – ‘Securing the EU GNSS adoption in transport of dangerous materials’. This has validated the accuracy and reliability of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) for goods tracking and se
    Read More

Highlighted Content