SouthPAN update - August 2024

An exciting milestone for SouthPAN was achieved recently, with the Awarua Uplink Processing Centre being ‘switched on’ and officially commissioned. This is an important step in the overall programme delivery and helps us deliver services that are boosting the economy and will make New Zealand safer and more productive.

We are pleased to share the following updates with you:

• SouthPAN Awarua site ‘switched on’
• SouthPAN in the media
• New case studies share SouthPAN benefits for primary industries
• Compatible devices list updated regularly
• ICG conference coming to Wellington

SouthPAN Awarua site ‘switched on’

Minister for Land Information Hon Chris Penk officially commissioned the new SouthPAN Awarua Uplink Processing Centre on Friday 26 July.

The site consists of two 11-metre antennae (satellite dishes), and supporting server rooms to power SouthPAN services, and is located at SpaceOps New Zealand in Awarua, just outside Invercargill. This is a great location with clear open fields, limited air traffic and strong local expertise.

As part of the official opening, the centre was blessed by Te Rūnaka o Awarua.

Following the commissioning and blessing, guests were invited to Invercargill Airport to hear how SouthPAN will benefit many industries, including aviation, contributing to fewer diversions and cancellations in future once Safety-of-Life certification is achieved. This is expected by 2028.

The event was attended by leaders in the aviation sector, as well as our SouthPAN build partners Lockheed Martin and their sub-contractors. Site hosts SpaceOps NZ were there to talk about the development of positioning in New Zealand, as well as how Awarua has become something of an unofficial space capital of the world.

Check out this time-lapse of the build process from turning sod to constructing the antennae.

SouthPAN in the media

You may have seen SouthPAN in the media lately. If you missed it, here are some standout stories:

1 News: Fewer flight disruptions thanks to new Southland-based satellite tech

1 News came along to the official opening in Invercargill, and interviewed the Minister for Land Information, Airways NZ, and Space Ops NZ about the benefits to the aviation industry, as well as how it can support precision farming, construction, and forestry.

1 News – Fewer flight disruptions thanks to new Southland-based satellite tech

Radio New Zealand: Delayed flights? GPS to the rescue

LINZ Director – SouthPAN Michael Appleyard spoke to Jesse Mulligan of RNZ Afternoons about SouthPAN’s uses for a range of industries, and where to next for the programme.

RNZ – Delayed flights? GPS to the rescue

New case studies share SouthPAN benefits for primary industries

SouthPAN services are open access and free to use through compatible devices, delivering accuracy of less than a metre, and in some cases as little as 10cm, with 99.5% reliability.

This is already proving useful for users, who are benefiting from improved productivity and efficiencies by adopting these early open SouthPAN services.

We’ve recently published two case studies to share how SouthPAN is optimising the way industries like forestry and horticulture are working.

Case study: Scion field crews

Scion field crews are utilising SouthPAN in handheld GNSS kits to accurately collect data, manage forest inventory, and monitor pests and diseases.

Scion has found that enabling SouthPAN on their devices provides a low-cost solution with results that are indistinguishable from more expensive ‘high-grade’ systems currently in their toolkit. SouthPAN is now another tool in the belt for Scion’s geospatial and autonomous systems.

Scion field crews’ data collection three-to-five times faster with SouthPAN

Case study: Page Bloomer

Page Bloomer is making use of SouthPAN’s early open services by selecting commercial offerings and specialised farming equipment with integrated satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) enabled receivers, such as quadbikes and sprayers.

This has enabled Page Bloomer to consistently monitor, map, and manage their research and trial sites. With SouthPAN providing measurements at a level of detail suitable for precision farming, Page Bloomer has confidence they can return accurately to points of interest, vital to the results of long-term studies.

Page Bloomer significantly boosts efficiency with SouthPAN

Compatible devices list updated regularly

We regularly update the SouthPAN compatible GNSS devices list on our website. You can find the list at:
SouthPan compatible devices

ICG conference coming to Wellington

The United Nation’s International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (ICG) has chosen New Zealand and Australia to be the hosts of its next meeting in Wellington in October 2024. In partnership together, Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand and Geoscience Australia will have the opportunity to share how our two countries are positioning themselves as emerging leaders in the global navigation space.

Right off the back of ‘switching on’ the SouthPAN sites in Awarua and Uralla, NSW, we are looking forward to sharing our latest infrastructure achievements and hearing more about satellite systems globally. This will assist our future developments and ensure we can maximise how SouthPAN can be used to boost productivity and efficiency and contribute to improved economic outcomes for Australasia.

 

Lastly, we’d love to share with you our new video “SouthPAN can take you there”, demonstrating what SouthPAN can do for you. As the Minister recently said at the opening of the new satellite technology in Awarua, the exciting thing is that there are a lot of applications for SouthPAN that we haven’t even thought of yet and the possibilities are enormous.

If you have any questions for the SouthPAN team, get in touch at southpan@linz.govt.nz, and feel free to share this link with your networks.