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March 4, 2010 Updated

The 3rd Call for Surprising Ideas for Positioning Application Services

Japanese first positioning satellite, the Quasi-Zenith Satellite-1 will be launched in 2010. Because the Quasi-Zenith Satellite uses unique orbit to stay close to the zenith of Japan, during certain time of the day, it will improve positioning accuracy of GPS as well as availability. lnnovative ideas for making full use of the unique characteristics of this positional information will be welcomed. Please visit the Satellite Positioning Research and Application Center (SPAC) website (URL listed below) for details, and to apply. Outstanding ideas received will be introduced to related business industry, institutions and other entities towards realization.

Submission period: June 30, 2010

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Overview

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Contributing to a safe and secure society from directly over Japan anytime

Satellite-based positioning systems have been used in a broad array of fields including car navigation and land surveying, and have become indispensable to our lives.
The Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) uses multiple satellites that have the same orbital period as geostationary satellites with some orbital inclinations (their orbits are known as "Quasi-Zenith Orbits"). These satellites are placed in multiple orbital planes, so that one satellite always appears near the zenith above the region of Japan. The system makes it possible to provide high accuracy satellite positioning service covering close to 100% of Japan, including urban canyon and mountain terrain. Through the development and deployment of this system, we aim to enhance Japan's satellite positioning technology and contribute to building safe and secure society with enhanced satellite based positioning, navigation and timing technologies.


QZSS Project

Phase one will demonstrate the technological validation for the enhancement of GPS availability and performance and their application, using the first Quasi-Zenith Satellite (QZS-1) "MICHIBIKI". After evaluating these results, the plan moves into phase two which demonstrates the full system capability using three Quasi-Zenith Satellites, including QZS-1.
JAXA is in charge of integrating the system as a whole, as well as cooperating with related research organizations to develop the High Accuracy Positioning Experiment System, the QZS Bus System and the Tracking Control System.


High Accuracy Positioning Experiment System

The proposed High Accuracy Positioning Experiment System consists of onboard instruments capable of generating and transmitting positioning signals and ground tracking stations responsible for estimating the time and orbital position of the satellite.
The system is aimed at improving availability of GPS signals for relevant users through QZSS, which is equipped with instruments capable of generating and transmitting signals compatible with modernized GPS signals. In addition, QZSS is designed to transmit not only these positioning signals but also their correction signals and informations of GPS availability in order to enhance the accuracy and reliability of the positioning signals. A future plan calls for us to acquire technologies necessary for the development of next generation satellite positioning system through orbital demonstration conducted on experimental signal and onboard equipments designed to improve positioning accuracy.
Space-based positioning system has played an important role in wide area and diverse fields from land survey to car navigation, and has become critical to our lives. Research on the Positioning Experiment System is expected to improve benefits of GPS users and expand more sophisticated utilization of an advanced future satellite positioning system.