Tag Archives: CNES

Galileo Return Link Service declared Operational at European Space Conference

The Galileo Return Link Service, which allows people in distress to receive automatic acknowledgement that their signal has been received, was declared operational at the 12th European Space Conference, in the Egmont Palace in Brussels on January 21.

Galileo Return Link Service declared Operational

Galileo Return Link Service declared Operational

The Galileo Return Link Service (RLS) is a free-of-charge global service available to Cospas-Sarsat RLS compatible beacons. The new functionality, currently offered uniquely by Galileo, enables a communication link that relays Return Link Messages (RLM) back to the originating beacon through the Galileo Navigation Signal in Space (I/NAV E1). Read more…

Remote beacon activation with Galileo return link successfully tested

The European GNSS Agency (GSA) together with Orolia, CNES, Enaire, Spanish Mission Coordination Centre (MCC), Spanish Rescue Coordination Center (RCC) and French MCC, have successfully performed end-to-end tests with the airlines Iberia and Air France on remote beacon activation using the Galileo Return Link Service (RLS). The tests helped to assess and validate the operational concept for a potential new use of Galileo to support fast response in distress situations.

Successful remote beacon activation with Galileo RLS

Successful remote beacon activation with Galileo RLS

The goal of the end-to-end test with Iberia and Air France, which was conducted on 16 and 19 September 2019 respectively, was to validate the operational concept for remote aviation beacon activation being developed by Eurocae Working Group-98 SG-1 RLS, as well as to test the usability of the end user interfaces. Read more…

Four new Galileos join Europe’s largest constellation

The latest four Galileo satellites have been given the green light to begin working alongside the rest of Europe’s satellite navigation fleet, giving a further boost to worldwide Galileo service quality.

Galileo's global ground segment

Galileo’s global ground segment

Galileo has grown to become Europe’s single largest satellite constellation, built up over 10 launches over the course of this decade. The first of seven double-satellite Soyuz launches took place in 2011, with three sets of four-satellite Ariane-5 launches during the last three years. Read more…

100 million users for Galileo navigation system

The Galileo satellite navigation system has about 100 million users after its first year of operation, as per the French Space Agency CNES.

The system, which is highly crucial to Europe, went operational in December 2016. It took 17 long years to be ready for launch. Initially the services it provided relayed a weak signal, and some of the timekeepers on the satellites did not function as two satellites were arrayed in the wrong orbit.

But, since then, additional satellites have been added, and by 2020 Galileo is supposed to offer enhanced accuracy than GPS, focusing on a location to within a meter, instead of several meters earlier. Read more…

Building Ariane 6 mobile gantry at Europe’s spaceport

Ariane 6 launch zone

Ariane 6 launch zone

The first structural element of the mobile gantry that will house and protect Ariane 6 before launch has been assembled.

The mobile gantry is a 90 m-high, nine-storey structure weighing 8200 tonnes. Riding on rails, it is retracted before launch.

Work platforms will enable engineers to access the vehicle levels to vertically position Ariane 6’s central core directly on the launch table, add two or four boosters depending on the launch configuration, and integrate the fairing that houses the payload. Read more…

[vid] Ariane 6, the next generation launch vehicle for Galileo

Artist's view of the two configurations of Ariane 6

Ariane 6 two configurations

ESA and European industry are currently developing a new-generation launcher: Ariane 6. This follows the decision taken at the ESA Council meeting at Ministerial level in December 2014, to maintain Europe’s leadership in the fast-changing commercial launch service market while responding to the needs of European institutional missions.

This move is associated with a change in the governance of the European launcher sector, based on a sharing of responsibility, cost and risk by ESA and industry.

The participating states are: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

Read more…