On 20 January the Commission awarded two contracts for 12 Satellites (6 satellites each) for a total of EUR €1.47 billion, to ThalesAleniaSpace (Italy) and Airbus Defence & Space (Germany) following an open competition.
Airbus and Thales win second-generation Galileo satellite contracts
With this, the Commission is initiating the launch of the 2nd Generation of Galileo Read more…
Galileo has started testing Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA) in the signal-in-space, allowing the first-ever OSNMA-protected position fix to be successfully computed. Testing will continue over the next months, ahead of a so-called “public observation” phase. This is the first-ever transmission of authentication features in open GNSS signals of a global navigation system.
OSNMA test signals are being broadcast by the Galileo constellation
The Galileo OSNMA is an authentication mechanism that allows GNSS receivers to verify the authenticity of GNSS information, making sure that the data they receive are indeed from Galileo and have not been modified in any way. Read more…
Precise Point Positioning is becoming an attractive alternative technique to RTK, removing GNSS system errors to provide global high accuracy positioning, HERE has recently introduced the service HERE HD GNSS Positioning, a cloud-based service that provides sub-meter positioning for devices equipped with GNSS receivers.
Precise Point Positioning, new possibilities for mass market applications
Precise Point Positioning (PPP) correction services have been in the market for a long time to either assist vessels maneuver at ports or for measuring instruments for construction and geodesy. Today, highly precise positioning goes beyond industrial use cases and is available to mass market applications and devices. Read more…
Ionospheric effects can be a major source of disruption to GNSS signals, so it is important to be able to predict and compensate for these disturbances. With this in mind, the European Commission-funded Galileo Ionosphere Prediction Service (IPS) monitors ionospheric activity and informs GNSS users in good time of an upcoming event that could disrupt GNSS signals and applications.
The IPS anticipates any degradation of performance, allowing operators to put in place mitigation measures in good time
The IPS monitors and forecasts solar and ionospheric activity and predicts its effect on GNSS signals and on the final performance of user applications. The Service makes it possible to anticipate any degradation of performance, allowing operators to put in place mitigation measures in good time. Read more…
We are pleased to announce the release of the new Galileo Open Service Signal in Space Interface Control Document (OS SIS ICD v2.0). This second issue of the document is available for download here.
The OS SIS ICD is geared towards Galileo receiver manufacturers and it specifies the interface between the Galileo Space Segment and the Galileo User Segment. Read more…
The first Galileo Return Link Service Personal Location Beacon (PLB) developed under the H2020 funded Helios project will be released in December 2020 across 18 European countries.
The FastFind ReturnLink PLB transmits the user’s unique ID and GNSS location via the global network of Cospas-Sarsat search and rescue satellites
In close collaboration with the European GNSS Agency and within framework of the H2020 HELIOS project, Orolia has been working to equip SAR beacons with the breakthrough Galileo Return Link Service. Declared operational in January 2020, the Galileo Return Link Service is a unique feature of Galileo – Europe’s Global Navigation Satellite System – it allows people in distress to receive an automatic acknowledgement that their signal has been received and their location is known. Read more…
On 16 October 2020, Rodrigo da Costa took up his duties as Executive Director of the European GNSS Agency (GSA), soon to become the EU Space Programme Agency. He was elected by the GSA Administrative Board on 15 September 2020 and met with the ITRE Committee of the European Parliament on 12 October 2020.
Rodrigo da Costa, Executive Director of the European GNSS Agency
Mr da Costa, a Portuguese national who has worked in a number of EU countries, joined the GSA as the Galileo Services Programme Manager in March 2017. In this position he was responsible for leading Galileo, the European Union global navigation satellite system, in its service provision phase. He has previously held several senior project management, business development, and institutional account management positions in space industry, in the areas of human space flight, exploration, launchers and R&D. Read more…