Tag Archives: Thales

GRICAS, solution for aeronautical search & rescue

GRICASImagine the following: a technical incident occurs on a long-haul commercial flight. The aircraft’s computer identifies the root cause of the problem and activates a distress beacon while the plane is still en route. It sends out a distress signal, picked up by the special payloads on certain navigation satellites (including Galileo), which retransmit these signals to a ground station, called the Local User Terminal (LUT). This terminal receives and processes the warning message, calculates the position of the transmitter based on certain characteristics of the received signal, and sends this data to the Mission Control Center. The MCC then passes on this information to Rescue Coordination Centers (RCC), which are in charge of launching rescue operations by calling on the appropriate organizations. In other words, while the aircraft is still in flight, the entire rescue process is already set up. Read more…

Indra expands with four new stations the Galileo ground segment

Indra expands with four new stations the Galileo ground segmentIndra has been awarded a contract for implementing four new Uplink Stations (ULS), thus expanding the ground segment of the European global positioning system, Galileo. Awarded by the company Thales Alenia Space (France), this contract also includes maintenance and upgrades for all Uplink stations.

The new stations will join the ten uplink stations that Indra has already put into service and six others currently in development from a previous contract.  Read more…

GSA and Thales launch the EDG²E project to further optimise aviation navigation with Galileo

GSA and Thales launch the EDG²E projectThe GSA has officially launched the EDG²E project (Equipment for Dual frequency Galileo GPS and EGNOS) with a consortium led by Thales. This four-year project intends to develop a dual-frequency multi-constellation receiver, enabling enhanced navigation capabilities, support standardisation and certification preparation. The consortium includes Thales, Thales Alenia Space and ATR, as well as contributions from Dassault Aviation and the French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC).

The GNSS receiver is the cornerstone of aircraft navigation systems. The system processes signals from satellite constellations and the Space Based Augmentation System (SBAS) to accurately determine aircraft position, altitude and velocity. The prototype receiver developed under the auspices of the EDG²E project will use signals from US GPS and European Galileo positioning systems, as well as from SBAS multi-constellation EGNOS. The project aims to achieve a prototype demonstration by 2021. The prototype receiver performance will be evaluated during a flight test campaign performed by ATR using one of the company’s test aircraft. Read more…

EU Galileo and Japanese QZSS combination pushes driverless cars

The Japanese government and the European Union plan to connect their global positioning systems to speed up the development of autonomous driving technology.

If all goes as planned, Japan’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite System and the EU’s Galileo will be linked as early as 2018. The link will be a common digital language that the systems will use to transmit information. This will allow driverless cars and autoparts developed for the Japanese market to be shipped and used outside Japan. Read more…

GPS and Galileo: a winning combination for aviation and beyond

Twenty years ago, the air transport sector clearly identified the benefits of GPS for flight management and air traffic control. Today, the future of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) lies in a combined use of GPS and Galileo.Topstar-200

This year, the first LPV-200 approach was successfully made at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport (https://galileognss.eu/first-egnos-lpv-200-approach/), the first such approaches to be implemented in Europe. It was achieved using GPS SBAS/LPV (EGNOS) receivers, lending further credibility to the EGNOS GNSS system. Read more…