The next generation of GPS satellites just began existence late Thursday night with the launch of the new GPS 2F-1, a solar-powered satellite designed for a 12-year mission. This new satellite has twice the signal accuracy of previous navigation satellites, and the new constellation will also contain a next-generation international search and rescue system called the Distress Alerting Satellite System (DASS).
The DASS alerting system is a combined effort by NASA, NOAA, the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Coast Guard. The system is in testing now, with instruments aboard 12 satellites that can detect the 406 MHz signal that is generated from beacons on aircraft, vessels and individuals. The new system can accurate locate the beacons almost immediately using only the frequency signal, overcoming a limitation of the previous system that required an unrealiable GPS signal to assist in determining location.
Read more about this system via this story in RF Globalnet.
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