GPS World

Tag: Galileo Test Environment

  • Galileo Test Environment Open for Business

     

    The Galileo Test and Development Environment (GATE) in Berchtesgaden, Germany, officially opened on February 4. The system operator, IFEN GmbH of Poing, Germany, jointly with the German Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Development, announced the opening for use by commercial and organizational entities seeking to test equipment with the coming Galileo signals. GATE was developed on behalf of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) with funding by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology.

    The test area extends across a valley of approximately 65 square kilometers, south-east of Munich, where antennae atop surrounding peaks broadcast the various Galileo signals. Technical details and specifications of the test environment are at www.gate-testbed.com.

    GATE has completed its signal upgrade phase according to the latest version of the European Space Agency’s Galileo Signal-In-Space (SIS) Interface Control Document (ICD) and the European GNSS Agency’s Public Galileo Open Service (OS) ICD. The GATE infrastructure is capable of transmitting the Galileo OS, the Galileo Safety-of-Life (SoL) Service (functional), the Galileo Commercial Service (CS), and a Galileo Public Regulated Service (PRS) dummy signal.

    The GATE system upgrade has been further extended to also support user integrity testing. GATE can simulating simple alarm-triggering events on the system/satellite level, supporting GPS and GATE/Galileo dual-constellation receiver-autonomous integrity monitoring (RAIM), individual user integrity test scenarios, and tests of receivers with different RAIM functionalities.

    The next step will be certification of the GATE test infrastructure as an officially accredited open-air test infrastructure to perform the necessary tests needed for the process to certify Galileo SoL equipment.

    Günter Heinrichs, head of customer applications and business development for IfEN GmbH, described the goals and capabilities of GATE in a 2007 GPS World article. He gave an update on developments in a 2009 video interview. A recent simulation of emergency response scenarios using the Galileo signal is described at Galileo to the Rescue.

  • Official Opening of the German Galileo Test and Development Environment GATE

    On April 2, German Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Development Peter Ramsauer will officially open the German Galileo test and development infrastructure GATE with the operator IFEN GmbH. The official opening will be carried out in the presence of the operator of GATE, IFEN GmbH, and guests.

    GATE has now completed its signal upgrade phase, according to the latest version of the ESA Galileo Signal-In-Space (SIS) Interface Control Document (ICD) and the European GNSS Agency (GSA) Public Galileo Open Service (OS) ICD after successful final acceptance by the German Space Agency of the DLR at the end of November 2010.

    The GATE test infrastructure is now capable of transmitting the Galileo OS, the Galileo Safety-of-Life (SoL) Service (functional), the Galileo Commercial Service (CS), and a Galileo Public Regulated Service (PRS) dummy signal.

    The GATE system upgrade has been further extended to also support user integrity testing. GATE is now capable of simulating simple feared events on system/satellite level, so that the GATE system will support GPS and GATE/Galileo dual constellation RAIM, individual user integrity test scenarios as well as test of receivers with different RAIM functionalities.

    The next step will be the aspired certification of the GATE test infrastructure as an officially accredited open-air test infra- structure to perform the necessary tests needed for the certification process to certify Galileo SoL equipment.

  • Gunther Heinrichs Describes the Galileo Test Environment

    Speaking to GPS World at the Munich Satellite Navigation Summit, Gunther Heinrichs, the head of business development at IFEN GmbH, describes capabilities and simulation projects taking place in the Galileo Test Environment.

    The experimental operation phase of GATE has been completed successfully. Since August 2008 it is possible for companies and research institutes to book GATE for various experiments. It is planned to operate GATE at least until the full operational capability of Galileo.

    The GATE test bed cornerstones are six ground transmitters, emitting the Galileo signals towards the GATE test area. Inside this test area, which is located in the region of Berchtesgaden (GER), adequate receiver terminals can receive these signals and perform Galileo based positioning and navigation.