The first four Galileo satellites are already in orbit and operational. Over the course of 2014 six more satellites are planned to join them in three separate Soyuz launches. Galileo initial services are scheduled to start by the end of this year.
Galileo Early Services
The in-orbit validation (IOV) of Galileo has been achieved: Europe now has the operational nucleus of its own satellite navigation constellation in place, the world’s first civil-owned and operated satnav system.
In 2011 and 2012 the first four satellites were launched into orbit. These satellites were combined with a growing global ground infrastructure to allow the project to undergo its crucial IOV phase. Read more…
Regulation (EU) 1285/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council lays down the rules in relation to the implementation and exploitation of European Satellite Navigation Systems, applicable since 1 January 2014, has been published in the official journal of the European Union. Read more…
Galileo support to Search and Rescue Service (SAR/Galileo) represents the contribution of Europe to the international COSPAS-SARSAT co-operative effort on humanitarian Search and Rescue activities.
Operational use of Cospas-Sarsat by SAR agencies started with the crash of a light aircraft in Canada, in which three people were rescued (September 10, 1982). Since then, the System has been used for thousands of SAR events and has been instrumental in the rescue of over 33,000 lives worldwide. Read more…
The completion of a pair of dedicated ground stations (Medium-Earth Orbit Local User Terminal, Meolut) at opposite ends of Europe has enabled Galileo satellites in orbit to participate in global testing of the Cospas–Sarsat search and rescue system.
The Maspalomas station, at the southern end of the largest island of the Canary Islands, was activated in June and this last month has seen the Svalbard site on Spitsbergen in the Norwegian Arctic come on line. Read more…
Galileo runs on Galileo System Time (GST), which is under responsibility of the Galileo Mission Segment (GMS). GST is fixed on the ground at the Galileo Control Centre in Fucino (Italy) by the Precise Timing Facility (PTF), based on the average of different atomic clocks. Read more…
PRS (Public Regulated Service) is designed to provide position and timing to specific and authorized users requiring a high continuity of service using encrypted data. Typical PRS user will be organizations involved in public safety and security (police, fire fighters, health services, coast guards, etc.). Read more…