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Australian and United States Joint Statement on GPS
Australia and the United States have formally agreed to meet annually to work towards improvements for the civil use of the Global Positioning System and regional augmentations to GPS. Officials met in Canberra in late April to discuss a range of GPS related issues.
A formal statement issued after the meeting said that Australia and the US have a shared interest in space-based positioning, navigation and timing systems for civil, commercial and scientific uses.
New aircraft landing solution on show at ATC Maastricht
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Canberra, Australia 13 Feb. 2007: Airservices Australia today announced at Maastricht the official launch of a global agreement to develop Ground Based Augmentation Solutions (GBAS) and a Ground-based Regional Augmentation System (GRAS) for aviation.
GBAS and GRAS will helps maximise the use of Global Positioning System (GPS) within aviation. A prototype system is already operating at Sydney Airport and in use by Qantas.
First commercial landing using GPS
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Canberra, 6 December 2006:A recent Qantas flight, QF flight 513 from Brisbane, flew into the history books, as the first commercial flight to use satellite data for its approach to Sydney airport.
Allowing commercial flights to fly the GBAS Cat-1 prototype system is a world first. This approval is the result of over 18 months of international industry cooperation involving Airservices, Qantas and Sydney Airport Corporation Ltd, Honeywell and Boeing.
GBAS provides augmentation of Global Navigation Satellite Systems such as Global Positioning System (GPS) and transmits information to aircraft every second providing the accuracy and integrity needed for precision approach and landing. Unlike current Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) which have to be in-place and working for every runway end, a single GBAS covers all nearby runways.
AUSTRALIA LEADS DEVELOPMENT OF WORLD-FIRST SATELLITE NAVIGATION SYSTEM
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Airservices Australia has signed a multi-million dollar contract with Honeywell International to develop a sophisticated precision aircraft landing system, Australian Government Minister for Transport and Regional Services, Warren Truss, said today.
Mr Truss said the system will enable the transition to satellite-based navigation for all aircraft types - signalling a critical milestone for the aviation industry.
"The world-first satellite system will deliver faster, safer and cheaper aircraft navigation.
Mr Truss said GBAS would provide significant safety, operational and environmental (noise-abatement) benefits for Australian aviation and Airservices and Honeywell plan to market the system to airports worldwide.
Strategic partnership in satellite navigation to make aviation safer, faster and cheaper
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Canberra, June 2006, Airservices Australia Chief Executive Officer, Greg Russell and the Vice President of Aerospace, Honeywell International, Scott Starrett today announced a landmark strategic partnership to introduce satellite-based landing systems into aviation.
"This is a first for Airservices and a bold step for aviation" said Mr Russell. "This partnership is a response to industry calls to find better, faster and safer ways of introducing new technologies, through an international collaborative approach."
Mr Starrett said Honeywell was very excited to enter into a strategic partnership with Airservices for the development and commercialisation of these new systems.