Monthly Archives: November 2014

H2020-Galileo Second Call Opened

The second Horizon 2020 (H2020) call for Applications in Satellite Navigation, managed by the European GNSS Agency, is officially open. With a budget of EUR 25 million for the 2015 call, the deadline for submitting proposals is 8 April 2015.

Horizon 2020

To accelerate EU space policy, the second Horizon 2020 call focuses on growth and impact across all market segments, including transport (road, rail, maritime, aviation), high precision surveying, location based services (LBS), agriculture and emergency services. Priority is also placed on raising productivity and competitiveness while reducing adverse environmental impact Read more…

Three new European sites boost Cospas-Sarsat

Three new stations have been deployed on three islands at the far corners of our continent, ready to pick up distress calls via satellite from all across Europe and its surrounding waters.

These stations sit on Svalbard in the Norwegian Arctic, Maspalomas on Spain’s Canary Islands, and Larnaca on Cyprus, forming a triangle enclosing Europe. The three are coordinated and overseen from a control centre in Toulouse, France. Read more…

The many uses of Galileo and EGNOS

Farmers, bankers, captains, conductors, firefighters, pilots and European citizens will soon rely on EGNOS and Galileo to power services that enhance efficiency and safety, increase protection and fuel economic growth. Precision agriculture, rescue services or tracking of hazardous goods are just a few examples of how GNSS improves our live. Learn more about how EGNOS and soon Galileo provide. Read more…

First Galileo FOC Satellite moving to new orbit

The fifth Galileo navigation satellite, one of the two left in an incorrect orbit when being launched this summer, has begun maneuvering into a higher orbit where the satellite’s navigation payload and all other systems will be checked out.

The Galileo FOC-1 and 2 satellites launched together on a Soyuz rocket on August 22, instead of reaching a circular orbit at 23,222 Kilometers inclined 55.04 degrees, were released into an anomalous orbit of 13,710 by 25,900 Kilometers with a lower inclination of 49.69 degrees. Read more…

Galileo Public Regulated Service (PRS), highly trustable data

The Galileo Public Regulated Service (PRS) will be a unique encrypted navigation service of the EU’s Galileo GNSS. This robust and secure signal will be made available to authorised users, such as emergency services, via authorised national authorities.

PRS is an encrypted navigation service using dual band (E1 and E6 Galileo signals) designed to be more resistant to jamming, involuntary interference and spoofing. It combines the robust characteristics of a military GNSS signal with the huge potential of a civilian-controlled GNSS. Read more…

Laika, first-ever living animal into orbit

On this day, Nov. 3, in 1957, the Soviet Union launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome the first-ever living animal into orbit: a dog named Laika.

Laika, whose name means “barker”, was a 3-year-old mongrel stray wandering the streets of Moscow when she was picked up and taken to a secret Soviet space laboratory. Scientists selected strays because they had already learned to adapt to cold and harsh conditions. Read more…

GPS IIF-8 launch successful

United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Atlas V two-stage rocket liftoff from Cape Canaveral last 29-October with GPS IIF-8 aboard.

Built by Boeing, GPS IIF-8 is one of the next-generation GPS satellites, incorporating various improvements to provide greater accuracy, increased signals, and enhanced performance for users. It is the eighth GPS IIF satellite launched, the fourth this year by ULA. Three are in storage awaiting launch, and one is in production for a total of twelve of this series replacing GPS IIA. Read more…