An Introduction to the Proposed Bolas Mission for Ionospheric Research

GPS is becoming an important part of space positioning and navigation for the same reasons of cost, flexibility, efficiency, and accuracy that it has become the prime technology in world-wide earth surface and near surface positioning and navigation. Many space agencies and other organisations are pursuing or beginning to pursue research in applications of spaceborne GPS (SGPS). Figure 1 illustrates this growing use of GPS in space by showing the cumulative number of missions carrying SGPS receivers since the first, Landsat 4, which was launched in 1982. This survey does not include undisclosed military missions, sub-orbital rocket flights, nor all launches of space shuttles equipped with SGPS receivers. In pursuing the goal of GPS application development, the Geodetic Research Laboratory (GRL) of the University of New Brunswick has become a member of the BOLAS spacecraft mission team.