IGDG and its various components have been used in a variety of real time and near real time applications.

NASA Global GPS Network (GGN):

IGDG is being used to operate and control real-time GPS data streaming from the GGN. The IGDG technologies that enabled real time data transfer include remote data editing and data compression, UDP protocols for efficiently and reliably streaming data from dozens of sites to the central processing facility, encryption to provide data security, robust and redundant architecture to ensure safety against probable points of failure, and system-wide quality assurance and integrity monitoring technologies. Most significantly, IGDG's innovative use of the public internet helped to make the data collection from the upgraded GGN sites affordable, as the various telephone-based systems continue to prove prohibitively expensive for this type of application. IGDG provides support for all of the receiver types currently in use in the GGN.

JPL also serves as an IGS data center. In this capacity JPL is responsible for the free and rapid dissemination of GPS data files (in RINEX format) from the GGN to the IGS community. IGDG is also being used to facilitate this function by converting the high rate (1 Hz) raw GPS data collected at the remote sites to 30s RINEX files. IGDG's products, thus, reach a very broad spectrum of domestic and international users, some of them with very demanding scientific and engineering applications. It is essential, therefore, that IGDG be totally reliable and maintain the highest possible quality standards. IGDG has been operational in the GGN since January 2000, and has performed flawlessly.

Testimonial

Positioning and orbit determination:

IGDG was used for rapid and precise orbit determination of the Shuttle SRTM mission in the early stages of its flight, in order to assess the performance of the onboard GPS receivers. No other technology was capable of providing the required accuracy and latency for such an assessment. IGDG provided orbit determination services for the SNOE (Student Nitric Oxide Experiment) spacecraft, flying a JPL Bit Grabber GPS receiver (this is the original motivation for the development of the RTG module of IGDG). IGDG is embedded in the navigation demonstration package onboard the X33/RLV and supported the integration and testing of that payload. IGDG has provided precise positioning to NASA AirSAR that is required for science processing and aircraft control, as well as for validation and calibration of other flight sensors.

Testimonial

Commercial Differential systems:

IGDG was used to control and operate the SATLOC commercial differential service from 1995 until 2000 (when the system was bought by a competitor and then shut down). While operating, the SATLOC service had the best reliability and accuracy record of any wide area differential service. IGDG's impressive performance in the SATLOC service was probably key to the FAA's decision to adopt IGDG and its concept of operations for its wide area augmentation system.

Testimonial

The Federal Aviation Authority Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS):

IGDG was successfully implemented in WAAS by the WAAS prime contractor, Raytheon, and later was also implemented in a similar system Raytheon built in Japan.

Testimonial