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Lockheed Martin has successfully installed the second of two SouthPAN satellite ground control facilities set to significantly improve aircraft navigation in poor weather.
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The site will serve both Australia and New Zealand and aims to eventually boost the accuracy of GPS signals to as little as 10 centimetres.
Located on the southern tip of the South Island, it was opened by the country’s Minister for Land Information, Chris Penk, alongside representatives from Av-Comm physically installing the apparatus.
“Strategically located in Awarua to leverage Southland’s favourable geographic position for optimal satellite communication and coverage, the facility boasts two 11-metre satellite dishes and a control centre with dual radio frequency uplinks,” Lockheed Martin said.
“This capability benefits agriculture, aviation, construction, consumer, resource, road, rail, maritime, mining, utilities, and more.”
The $1.18 billion project is a collaboration between Geoscience Australia and Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand, alongside NSW-based Av-Comm and Lockheed.
“As the project develops, one of the most noticeable changes for the public will be less disruption to flights during bad weather, with a significant reduction in weather-related flight cancellations and delays,” said Minister Penk.
“SouthPAN services will aid flight navigation, making it safer for planes to land when visibility is poor.”
“Improved GPS accuracy has far-reaching benefits for the economy with implications for almost every major sector, from agriculture to aviation, forestry, and construction.”
SouthPAN works by using a number of distributed ground stations to monitor signals broadcast by Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) satellites. It then compares each station’s known location with position data from the satellites.
“The GNSS signal data and measurement information is sent to correction processing facilities,” Geoscience Australia said.
“The facilities aggregate the data from all ground stations, produce error corrections and status information about the GNSS satellites, and format the data in a standardised series of messages.
“These messages are sent to an uplink station, which transmits data to a satellite in geostationary earth orbit. The data is broadcast to all precise positioning users, who combine SouthPAN’s data with their own observations of GNSS satellites.”
The news comes after Space Connect reported that Lockheed successfully installed the first SouthPAN satellite dish in December 2023 in Uralla, NSW.
