Mystery GPS jammer in Iran is testing the capabilities of NASA satellites

NASA satellites designed to monitor hurricane speed and icefall have also proven to be able to detect the location of nearby GPS jammers. This can help monitor high-risk areas for aircraft and ships moving in the face of growing GPS interference around the world.

Two NASA satellites have demonstrated how to locate the familiar but mysterious GPS within a few kilometers of its location in Iran, according to a test by Sean GormanCEO and cofounder of a space-based technology company Zephr.xyz which were detailed in the magazine GPS World. Therefore jammers use strong signals to overcome weak radio signals from GPS satellites operated by the US and other international navigation systems around the world.

Such NASA satellites cannot “monitor in real time” or determine the exact location of GPS jammers, he said. Clara Chewchief scientist and leader of the GNSS systems and data group at California-based satellite manufacturer Muon Space, who was not involved in the research. But Chew told Ars that identifying the location of GPS recorders “could be useful for planning flights” or “highlighting high-risk areas for maritime traffic.”

One of NASA’s satellites, is Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS), consists of eight microsatellites that detect GPS signals reflected from the ocean to measure wind speeds in the eye of hurricanes, typhoons, and typhoons. When a ground jammer is activated, the effect creates a large footprint on GPS signals that can be seen hundreds of kilometers from the jammer’s location.

Other satellites, NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR), uses continuous radar imaging to monitor changes in the Earth’s surface, including earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, and icefalls. The GPS-type output creates a NISAR radar image that is aligned with the aircraft’s trajectory — meaning that “each line sets the direction of the jammer in relation to the satellite,” Gorman wrote in his GPS World article.

“CYGNSS looks at the jammer’s effect on GPS signals, which provides an indirect measure of the spread over a wide range of visible areas,” Gorman said. “NISAR sees the jammer’s emissions directly in its receiver, which is an accurate measurement, but along the narrow path of the satellite.”