RUAG Space: Maiden flight of new generation navigation receiver

With the upcoming launch of ocean monitoring satellite Sentinel-6, two new Precise Orbit Determination Receivers (PODRIX) from RUAG Space will make their maiden flight. PODRIX achieves a very high, real-time in-orbit accuracy of the satellite's position in orbit from below one meter to a few centimeters utilizing on-ground post-processing. The high accuracy is achieved through simultaneously processing of multi-frequency signals from the U.S. GPS and European Galileo satellites.

PODRIX GNSS receivers are the latest addition to RUAG's GNSS receiver product family that already includes LEORIX (navigation receiver for Low Earth Orbit) and GEORIX (navigation receiver for Geostationary Earth Orbit).

"They are all based on the European Space Agency's latest GNSS processing technology", says Anders Linder, Senior Vice President Electronics at RUAG Space. "This launch is a remarkable milestone for our GNSS receiver family, which include the most precise receiver on the market."

Kurt Kober, General Manager Product Unit Navigation and Payload Processors, adds: "This maiden flight is an important step towards gaining flight heritage for our new PODRIX receivers."

70 receivers of the latest receiver generation ordered
PODRIX receivers are built on the experience of the 23 GPS-only receivers of the RUAG Space legacy receiver generation that are currently working flawlessly in orbit.

In total, more than 70 receivers of the latest receiver generation (LEORIX, GEORIX and PODRIX) have been ordered by customers in Asia, Europe, Middle East and the USA so far. They will be launched for different Low- and Geostationary Earth Orbit missions within the next few months or years.

Complete package
"One key success factor for us is the ability to provide our customers with a complete package, consisting of both, GNSS receivers and antennas", says Linder. For its entire electronics portfolio RUAG Space offers a direct technical interface to U.S. clients in its office in Denver, Colorado.