Author Archives: Galileo GNSS

QinetiQ develops GNSS receiver for Galileo PRS

QinetiQ has announced a major breakthrough in developing a robust navigation receiver which will support the new global navigation satellite system (GNSS) Galileo, and particularly the secured Public Regulated Service (PRS) which could become of great use to the shipping and ports sector.

QinetiQ’s new high-performance, next-generation GNSS receiver is multi‑constellation and multi‑frequency, and is designed to process encrypted signals from the Galileo PRS service as well as open services such as GPS. Read more…

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Galileo 5 and 6 Recovery

On 22 August 2014, Europe’s fifth and sixth Galileo satellites were launched by a Soyuz rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, continuing the construction of the Galileo satnav constellation.

Galileo launch - Soyuz VS09

Galileo launch – Soyuz VS09

The problem
At first, all seemed well. Then Galileo’s Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) team at ESA’s ESOC operations centre in Darmstadt (Germany), tasked with bringing the new satellites to life, jointly manned from ESA and French space agency CNES personnel, based at ESA’s ESOC operations centre in Darmstadt, raised the alarm. Read more…

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New Galileo TT&C station in French Polinesia

The Spanish company Indra has been awarded a contract for the deployment in Papeete (French Polynesia) of a new Telemetry, Tracking and Command (TT&C) Station, which will expand the Galileo ground segment. This contract was awarded by Airbus Defence and Space in the UK. The project also includes the maintenance and evolution of all TT&C stations until 2016 for a global amount of €7.3M. The new TT&C station will join the two Uplink stations (ULS) already deployed by the same company in Papeete. Read more…

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UTC adjusted by leap second addition

The Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) time standard, based on atomic clocks, is widely used for international timekeeping and as the reference for time in most countries. UTC is the basis of legal time for most of the world.

UTC must be adjusted at irregular intervals to maintain its correlation to mean solar time due to irregularities in the Earth’s rotation. These adjustments, called leap seconds, are pre-determined. Read more…

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European Satellite Navigation Competition 2015

The European Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC) is an international contest awarding the best services, products or business solutions that make use of satellite navigation in everyday life. The 2015 prize pool is valued at EUR 1,000,000 and comprises cash awards, support-packages, coaching and data access. Prizes will be awarded by key GNSS stakeholders, such as the European GNSS Agency (GSA), the European Space Agency (ESA) or the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Read more…

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Guiana Space Centre – Operations

Ariane operations began in 1979 with the Ariane 1 version. Since then, more than 220 Ariane flights have been performed from the Spaceport, where the Ariane 5 now operates as Arianespace’s workhorse heavy-lift launch vehicle.

CSG operations

Arianespace’s launcher family was expanded in 2011 with the introduction of its medium-lift Soyuz at French Guiana, and joined in early 2012 by the lightweight Vega. Read more…

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