Tag Archives: European Space Agency

European Space Agency (ESA)

Galileo set to growth with global system upgrade

Having completed all necessary qualification testing, ESA has received the green light to upgrade the global infrastructure running Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation system. The resulting migration, which started in February 2019, will incorporate new elements into the world-spanning system and boost the robustness of Galileo services delivered from the 26 satellites in orbit.

Galileo model at the Oberpfaffenhofen Control Centre in Germany

Authorisation for this upgrade – formally known as Galileo System Build 1.5.1 – has been given by the Galileo Security Accreditation Board, made up of European Union Member States. Read more…

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Antarctic explorers make most southerly Galileo positioning fix

A kite-blown science expedition to the interior of Antarctica has made the most southerly positioning fixes yet made with Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation system.

Wind-blown Antarctic explorers

Their measurements not only confirm Galileo performance at extremely high latitudes, but also offer knowledge of space weather events overhead. In particular they offer insights into the ionosphere – the electrically active upper layer of Earth’s atmosphere – above the southern continent, and the performance of Galileo software to correct ionospheric interference. Read more…

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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 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…

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Ionosphere: A major obstacle for satnav signals

Radio astronomers and satellite navigation engineers are focusing their attention on the same point of the sky, looking into methods of improving both satnav accuracy and radio astronomy.

Core of LOFAR radio astronomy network

What resembles at first an ancient earthwork in a nature reserve in the northeast of the Netherlands is actually the heart of the most advanced radio telescope in the world, spanning northwestern Europe. Read more…

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GNSS Compare app

An app that lets your smartphone work directly with Galileo and check performance from raw satellite signal measurements is now available for download from the Google Play Store.

GNSS Compare app lets your smartphone work directly with Galileo

Developed by ESA trainees in their spare time, the GNSS Compare app was the winner of an internal ESA competition this summer. Read more…

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ESA Galileo app competition

Students and research trainees across Europe are invited to take part in ESA’s new Galileo smartphone app competition – to develop an app capable of performing fixes using raw Galileo satnav measurements.

Galileo seen at work with commercially available Samsung S8+ smartphones

Run by ESA in collaboration with the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency – GSA – plus the European Commission with the support of Google, this Galileo app competition is open to all students from European universities and trainees in posts at European research and development organisations. Read more…

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ESA Trainees Develop Smartphone Apps to View Galileo Satellites

ESA challenged its young graduate and national trainees to develop a smartphone app to perform satnav fixes using only Galileo satellites. Three teams developed apps in their spare time, presenting their results to a jury of experts from ESA, the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency (GSA) and Google.

“I’m very impressed,” said Javier Benedicto, ESA’s Galileo programme manager. “With little detailed knowledge of satellite navigation, these teams have developed something that didn’t exist just a few months ago. Working on Galileo we love to see that the systems we’re putting together can reach widespread application and inspire new uses.” Read more…

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