The European Space Agency (ESA), in collaboration with the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, are hosting this year’s ESA/JRC International Summer School on GNSS with the Swedish Space Agency in July in Kiruna, Sweden. The course will include an overview of satellite navigation from the theoretical basis of GNSS, their signals, and processing by receivers and more.
Elements of this year’s program will include details of low-Earth-orbit positioning, navigation and timing, navigation on the Moon, and Galileo’s Open Service Navigation Message Authentication. Exercises will include receiving signals from Galileo and other GNSS.
Participants will also learn about business aspects, intellectual property rights, and the future of satellite navigation systems, including Galileo second-generation.
Some of the world’s leading satnav and space experts will be giving lectures. Lecturers include Paul Verhoef, former director of navigation for ESA, and Jean-Jacques Dordain, former director general. The course will be opened by Anna Rathsman, Director General of the Swedish National Space Agency; Javier Benedicto, Director of Navigation at the European Space Agency; and Georgios Giannopoulos, head of the Technologies for Space, Security and Connectivity Unit at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission.
The course is limited to 50 participants on a first-come, first-served basis and is open to graduate students, Ph.D. and postdoctoral researchers, as well as young engineers and academics working within industry or agencies, aged 38 or younger.
The summer school will take place July 17-28 in Kiruna, Sweden. Register before April 14 for a reduced early fee. For more information and to register, click here.
Javier Benedicto, left, with EUSPA’s Rodrigo da Costa. (Image: ESA)
Javier Benedicto will become the director of Navigation for the European Space Agency (ESA) on Feb. 16, 2022, when current director Paul Verhoef retires.
Verhoef has served as director for almost six years, after a 40-year career spanning the European Commission, ESA and private industry.
Benedicto is now head of the Galileo Programme Department within the Directorate of Navigation at ESA. A Spanish national, he spent his early career in academia, working as a microwave engineer at the Polytechnical University of Catalonia in Barcelona and as a telecommunications engineer at MIER Comunicaciones, also in Barcelona, before joining ESA in 1990. He is also a GPS World author, keeping readers apprised on the status of the Galileo program.
He holds a master’s degree in science and telecommunications engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia and has more than 100 publications in technical journals and conferences. He also holds three international ESA patents and has five honors and awards.
Benedicto’s new role was announced Oct. 21, when the ESA Council appointed three new ESA directors. In addition to Benedicto as director of Navigation, Géraldine Naja will lead the new Directorate of Commercialisation, Industry and Procurement. Simonetta Cheli will succeed Josef Aschbacher as Director of Earth Observation Programmes; Aschbacher became ESA Director General in March 2021.
After a three-day delay, on Dec. 4, at 7:19 p.m. EST (00:19 GMT) launch service provider Arianespace launched Galileo satellites 27 and 28 on a Soyuz launcher from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.
Manufactured by OHB, the satellites are operated by SpaceOpal for the EU Space Program Agency (EUSPA), which, in turn, is operating the mission on behalf of the European Commission.
These satellites are the first of Batch 3, comprising 12 additional first-generation Galileo satellites commissioned in 2017 to bring the constellation to full operational capability. They will be used to further expand the constellation up to 38 satellites and act as backups and spares for satellites that reach their end of life.
“Today’s lift-off marks the 11th Galileo launch of operational satellites in 10 years: a decade of hard work by Europe’s Galileo partners and European industry, over the course of which Galileo was first established as a working system then began initial services in 2016,” said Paul Verhoef, ESA director of navigation. “With these satellites, we are now increasing the robustness of the constellation so that a higher level of service guarantees can be provided.”
“Galileo is already delivering meter-scale accuracy everywhere on Earth,” added Matthias Petschke, the responsible director at the European Commission. “The Galileo partners are far from resting on their laurels, however. These two satellites will further reinforce Galileo and will — along with other launches to follow — enable novel signals and services, helping to ensure that Galileo retains its first-place status for many years to come.”
Soyuz launcher VS-26, operated by Arianespace and commissioned by ESA, lifted off with the pair of 715 kg satellites from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. All the Soyuz stages performed as planned, with the Fregat upper stage releasing the satellites into their target orbit close to 23,525 km altitude, around 3 hours and 54 minutes after liftoff.
The satellites will spend the coming weeks being maneuvered into their final working orbit at 23,222 km using their onboard thrusters, at the same time as their onboard systems are gradually checked out for operational use – known as the Launch and Early Operations Phase.
The Soyuz rocket was produced by the Progress Space Rocket Center, which is a part of the Russian space agency Roscosmos. This is the 14th time this partnership aimed to send a Galileo mission to space. This mission, known as Galileo FOC-M9, was the 61st mission launched by Arianespace on behalf of ESA and carried the 83rd and 84th satellites for the partnership.
In a first for any satellite navigation system, Galileo has achieved the first position fix based on navigation signals carrying authenticated data, according to the European Space Agency.
Galileo’s Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA) is intended as a way to combat malicious spoofing of satnav signals.
OSNMA receivers successfully calculated an OSNMA-protected position fix after Galileo satellites started transmitting authentication data at 15:28 UTC on Nov. 18, 2020. The first tests used eight Galileo satellites for around two hours on Nov. 18. Tests have continued ever since, for intermittent periods, and will continue over the next months ahead of a public observation phase.
The first authenticated signal position, velocity and timing fixes were made using a total of eight Galileo satellites for around two hours on Nov. 18, 2020. The tests represent a first proof-of-concept for an eventual operational service offering positioning with authenticated data to users. (Image: ESA)
Pioneering a long-awaited service
The Galileo OSNMA authentication mechanism allows GNSS receivers to verify Galileo information, making sure that received data are indeed from Galileo and not modified in any way.
“Ensuring the validity of positions elaborated by GNSS is one of the main challenges before addressing an entirely new set of applications demanding dependability and resilience,” said Matthias Petschke, director of space at the European Commission, DG DEFIS. “Galileo is now set on course to deliver on this highly anticipated feature and has many more novel features in store for the coming years.”
Testing is taking place at ESA’s Navigation Laboratory at ESTEC in the Netherlands, the same site where the first Galileo positioning fix took place in 2013.(Photo: ESA)
Increased robustness
OSNMA test signals are being broadcast by the Galileo constellation using the spare bits from the current navigation message, therefore not impacting the legacy OS receivers implementing the current OS Signal-In-Space Interface Control Document (OS SIS ICD).
“Galileo’s Open Service Navigation Message Authentication is one of its key differentiators,” said Rodrigo da Costa, executive director of the European GNSS Agency. “The additional robustness that it will provide to the Galileo signal will be critical for many applications, particularly those where security and trustworthiness are a priority, making the OSNMA a key component in any resilient PNT solution.”
OSNMA works on a comparable basis to everyday encryption, where sending a digitally signed document involves both sender and recipient using compatible cryptographic keys (private and public) to validate the document’s source of origin.
“Up until now, as a navigation satellite disseminates navigation and timing data, there is no way of confirming these data are indeed coming from their apparent originator,” explained Paul Verhoef, director of navigation at the European Space Agency. “As a result, the data could be falsified, a phenomenon known as spoofing, where corrupt false signals mislead receivers about their position, misleading their users in turn, with potentially serious consequences.”
An ESA Navigation Directorate team at the ESTEC technical centre in the Netherlands worked with their European GNSS Agency (GSA) counterparts at the twin Galileo Control Centres in Italy and Germany and the Galileo Service Centre (GSC) in Spain to develop and test the OSNMA.
Next steps
Upon successful completion of the internal testing phase, a public observation phase will begin, in which the OSNMA signal will be publicly accessible. In preparation for this phase, the OSNMA user Signal-In-Space Interface Control Document (OSNMA SIS ICD), receiver implementation guidelines, and the necessary cryptographic materials will be published. This will allow receiver manufacturers and application developers to test and prepare their products.
During the public observation phase, feedback will be gathered from users, leading to the consolidation of the service.
Testbed vehicle by ESA’s Navigation Lab. (Photo: ESA)
With 26 satellites now in orbit and more than 1.5 billion smartphones and devices worldwide receiving highly accurate navigation signals, Europe’s Galileo navigation system will soon become even better, ensuring quality services over the next decades.
Following the European Commission’s decision to accelerate development of Galileo Next Generation, ESA has asked European satellite manufacturers to submit bids for the first batch of the Galileo Second Generation (G2) satellites. The new spacecraft are expected to be launched in about four years.
Paul Verhoef, director of the Galileo Programme. (Photo: ESA)
The next-generation satellites will provide all the services and capabilities of the current first generation with a substantial improvements and new services and capabilities.
“We want an ultra-flexible and mostly digital design,” said Paul Verhoef, ESA director of Navigation.
“Developing the second generation is challenging for both industry and for ESA. In 2024, we need to launch the first satellites for this new state-of-the-art constellation.”
Invitation to Tender
Following almost 24 months of a competitive dialogue procedure with the three large system integrators involved, ESA issued a “Best and Final Offer” invitation to tender on Aug. 11 to Airbus, OHB System AG and Thales Alenia Space.
ESA is implementing a dual-sourcing approach, and two parallel contracts are expected to be signed by the end of 2020 among the current three bidders. Under the plan, each of the two selectees will build two satellites for development purposes, with options for up to 12 satellites in total.
The first satellites of the new constellation are expected to be launched before the end of 2024, together with updated ground systems to support the new satellites.
Reconfigurable in Orbit
In addition to being more powerful, the second-generation Galileo satellites will be more flexible, able to be reconfigured in orbit in order to satisfy the expected evolution in end-user needs.
A number of challenges exist for the bidders. The goal of a digital and fully flexible design represents the cutting edge of industrial capability.
Navigation Antenna Progress
A Galileo satellite undergoes its fit-check validation at the Kourou Spaceport in French Guiana. (Photo: ESA/Arianespace)
Furthermore, the required navigation antennas will have a very advanced design; much research and development by ESA has been done, yet more remains for industry.
ESA has already built such an antenna as a proof of concept at the Agency’s ESTEC technology center in the Netherlands to ensure feasibility, and the know-how has been shared with the three bidders.
“Each bidder must determine how they can best manufacture the navigation antenna, and we’ll have to see how each proposes to do it. Also, requiring a fully flexible payload is quite a challenge. No such navigation spacecraft of that type have flown yet,” Verhoef said.
Ambitious Plan
The European Commission has decided that what was previously going to be called the “transition batch” of new satellites will now become, in fact, the Galileo Second Generation satellites. The European Commission and EU Member States have already made clear that they want to be very ambitious and further increase the technical capabilities of the Galileo system.
The name change reflects of how the current batch is actually shaping up.
The transition satellites were initially foreseen as interim upgrades, to cater for the potential risk of late delivery of the later, completely new and very advanced G2 satellites.
Estimated Lifetime Increased
Based on constant measurements of the performance of the current satellites in orbit, their predicted lifetime has increased. So, together with a slight spreading out of the launches of the Batch 3 satellites — currently under construction by OHB and in testing at ESTEC —this will ensure service continuity before the new, advanced capabilities of Galileo become operational.
The second-generation satellites will gradually take over from the current first-generation satellites in the provision of Galileo services. At a future date, they will all constitute a complete constellation plus the necessary in-orbit spares.
ESA serves as the design, development and procurement agent for Galileo satellites on behalf of the European Commission, which funds the system overall.
In response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the test campaign for the first two satellites of Galileo’s Batch 3 has been suspended.
The suspension is based on the medical advice for social distancing — too high a concentration of people is needed on site if testing were to continue, according to the European Space Agency (ESA).
An aerial view of ESTEC. The Erasmus building is at front right. The T building (home to ESA’s Galileo team) is in the foreground. (Photo: ESTEC)
The satellites are based at the ESTEC Test Centre in the Netherlands for engineering tests ahead of launch. The stored satellites are being monitored by staff visiting ESTEC every few days, to verify that all is in order.
Other Galileo-related testing continues with the aim of supporting future launches. ESTEC-based lifetime testing of the next set of rubidium atomic clocks is set to continue, involving on-site monitoring every few days.
Working from home
ESA’s Directorate of Navigation has shifted to teleworking while also ensuring the continuity of essential tasks, in particular the continued delivery of positioning, navigation and timing services of both Galileo and EGNOS.
The ESA team is using video and audio conferences to continue meetings with the industries involved and minimize the impact on the deliveries of EGNOS upgrades, Galileo Batch 3 satellites, and preparatory work for Galileo Second Generation.
The national, local and industrial decisions on travel, meetings and quarantine are impacting the ability to deliver all ongoing commitments, so measures are being taken to minimize their impact, ESA said in a press release.
Priority has been given to ensure continued operations of both EGNOS and Galileo, so the ESA Navigation Directorate has been supporting the European GNSS Agency (GSA), the operator of Galileo and EGNOS, on behalf of the European Commission.
The team also is maintaining constant contact with various stakeholders.
NAVISP and Horizon 2020
Research and development projects under the Directorate’s Navigation Innovation and Support Programme (NAVISP) are continuing at a somewhat slower pace, given the crisis. So are satellite navigation projects financed by the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme, which develop future technology for the EU satellite navigation projects.
“Confronted with this unprecedented situation, our efforts are focussing on business continuity and supporting the GSA with services provision of Galileo and EGNOS, while taking all necessary measures to protect our personnel,” said Paul Verhoef, ESA Director of Navigation. “An impact assessment will only be possible when we see the end of the restrictions in the various European countries. For the time being, stay home, stay healthy, is the priority, whereas however we are in close contact with industry to try and keep momentum on the projects that are underway.”
The next generation of Europe’s satellite navigation overlay service, EGNOS, will combine use of GPS and Galileo signals to improve accuracy and robustness of navigation for air traffic and other uses where lives are at stake.
A contract was signed Jan. 26 at ESA’s technical centre in the Netherlands for the second generation of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service, EGNOS V3, planned to enter service in 2025.
ESA Director of Navigation Paul Verhoef signs the EGNOS V3 contract Jan. 26 with Senior Vice President of Airbus Defence and Space, Mathilde Royer Germain. (Photo: ESA)
ESA Director of Navigation Paul Verhoef signed the contract with the senior vice president of Airbus Defence and Space, Mathilde Royer Germain, in the presence of senior managers of the European Global Navigation Satellite System Agency (GSA) and of the European Commission.
This improved version of the service will take advantage of in-operation Galileo signals as well as new frequencies from an improved class of GPS satellites. Use of the L5 second frequency will improve service robustness against errors and propagation delays caused by the ionosphere, an electrically active outer layer of Earth’s atmosphere.
“This will be the first such regional satellite augmentation systems worldwide to employ dual frequency, GPS and Galileo signals,” comments Didier Flament, overseeing EGNOS development for ESA.
For aircraft with the latest avionics, EGNOS V3 will be able to guide them accurately and safely down to Category 1, a 10 m Vertical Alert Limit (also called Cat1 Autoland capability), while also providing legacy users equipped with current avionics a more robust version of the current LPV200, or 35 m vertical limit vertical guidance service.
As well as improving services for civil aviation, the plan is to introduce new services for other sectors such as maritime navigation and rail, and extend service coverage from the European continent to link up seamlessly with other interoperable augmentation systems worldwide.
EGNOS is Europe’s other satellite navigation system, next to the global Galileo system. Comparable to the US WAAS, the Wide Area Augmentation System, and other regional augmentation systems in the rest of the world, EGNOS is an overlay system based on a network of ground stations and transponders on geostationary satellites. These stations gather data on the current accuracy of US GPS signals and embed correction data in the EGNOS signal, which is uplinked via geostationary satellites to EGNOS users.
The current EGNOS augments the accuracy of GPS signals across Europe and informs users of their current reliability level within six seconds. EGNOS belongs to a family of systems called Satellite Based Augmentation Systems (SBAS); the EGNOS V3 second generation will augment both GPS and Galileo.
Designed against global standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, EGNOS began offering its Open Service for non-safety-of-life uses in October 2009. In March 2011 its Safety-of-Life Service became available for aircraft navigation.
Dozens of European airports are today employing EGNOS for vertical guidance approaches, as an economic alternative to ground-based infrastructure, like Instrument Landing Systems. It is estimated that that around 110 000 aircrafts worldwide are today equipped and using SBAS systems.
The development of satellite-based augmentation systems around the world is being coordinated in particular by the international SBAS Interoperability Working Group, which last week held its 33rd meeting at ESA’s centre in Madrid, chaired by ESA and the US Federal Avigation Authority, joined by current or planned service providers from Africa, Australia, Canada, China, India, Japan, Russia and South Korea.
Initiated by ESA in cooperation with the EU and Eurocontrol, the EGNOS Exploitation phase is managed by GSA and funded by the EU. ESA manages the EGNOS development under a working arrangement signed between GSA and ESA.
The European Space Agency (ESA) held its annual Navigation Days on Jan. 26. ESA navigation specialists met with guests from the European Commission, European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency and European space companies at ESA’s technical centre in the Netherlands.
With Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation system only one launch away from full global coverage, representatives of the European space industry gathered at ESA’s centre in the Netherlands to discuss the transition towards the future Galileo Second Generation.
Galileo Initial Services began on Dec. 15, 2016, while the constellation in orbit has grown to 22 satellites. An Ariane 5 launch later this year of another quartet will bring the constellation to the point of completion with 24 satellites, plus two orbital spares.
A steady stream of orbital spares, ready to replace satellites reaching the end of their operational lives, is necessary to ensure Galileo continues operating seamlessly. A further 12 satellites were therefore ordered from industry in June 2017.
Paul Verhoef, director of the Galileo Programme addresses the audience at ESA’s annual Navigation Days, held Jan. 26. (Photo: ESA)
Looking further ahead, with the aim of keeping Galileo services as a permanent part of the European and global landscape, a replacement set of Galileo satellites will be required post-2020, serving as transition to a future generation.
The Galileo Second Generation is foreseen to offer improved performance and added features. This is why the European Commission has decided on a Transition Programme, with the European Space Agency (ESA) in charge of its technical definition and implementation.
Together with the European Commission and the European Global Navigation Satellite System Agency, the agency invited leading European space companies to its technical centre in Noordwijk for Navigation Days, held Jan. 26, to discuss Galileo’s future and present short-term plans in relation to this transition programme.
Having started with the ESA European Global Navigation Satellite System Evolutions Programme (EGEP), the system and technology development of Galileo Second Generation is being supported through the EU’s GNSS and Horizon 2020 HSNAV Programmes, with ESA being delegated its technical definition and management of its related implementation.
Eleven Phase-B contracts were signed at the meeting for the Design Phase for both the Galileo Second Generation and the Transition Programme, complementing the more than 50 technology contracts signed in 2017 to prepare for Galileo’s future.
In recent years, innovations have been analysed and predevelopments performed in various technology fields (system, ground, space, receiver technologies) in order to assess their suitability for future Galileo activities, while ensuring backward compatibility and continuity of Galileo Services.
In the next eight months, all major public and private stakeholders will be involved in the detailed assessment of the different evolution scenarios and associated technologies, in order to come to decisions on the Transition Programme baseline for the evolution towards Galileo Second Generation.
By Paul Verhoef
Director of the Galileo Programme and Navigation-related Activities,
European Space Agency
Paul Verhoef, director of the Galileo Programme. (Photo: ESA)
The European Space Agency (ESA) and the European GNSS Agency (GSA) are starting 2018 with the commissioning and In-Orbit Testing (IOT) of four new Galileo satellites.
This work is fairly routine for us as we have achieved the process successfully many times. But the impact of four new satellites for Galileo services is a different story.
This batch of satellites provided by OHB of Germany — 19, 20, 21 and 22 — will bring our constellation to 22 satellites. Together with the necessary ground segment delivered by Thales Alenia Space (TAS) and Airbus Defense and Space (ADS) and their many subcontractors throughout Europe, this will be providing availability to users anywhere in the world in order to achieve a high-quality position solution 99.8% of the time. “High quality” is hereby meant that the position dilution of precision (PDOP) will be smaller than 5, with our final accuracy for a full 24 FOC satellites operating at full potential being PDOP ~ 2.4.
This achievement will create a step change in the ability of service providers and equipment manufacturers to utilize the Galileo service. For all intents and purposes, it means the Galileo signal can always be relied upon to be there, and industry can sell products and design the power budget of devices based upon that fact.
Dual Frequency. The first mass-market GNSS receiver chip for smartphones and mobile devices that is able to utilize dual-frequency Galileo signals was released by Broadcom in September, able to employ both L1/E1 and L5/E5 signals. In 2018, dual-frequency technology like this will provide an order of magnitude increase in the performance of mobile device location-based services (LBS), especially in urban environments, and Broadcom advertises a 50% reduction in power consumption. The world of mobile-device LBS is going to change in 2018, and it will be due to the availability of Galileo.
It will not be the first time the partnership of ESA, the European Commission (EC) and the GSA has made a service available that has changed the nature of the marketplace. The GSA already has in service the ESA-designed EGNOS LPV200 aircraft approach service performing so well that countries like France have taken the decision to phase out the terrestrial Instrument Landing System that has burdened the capital expenditure budgets of airports in the past.
We have had discussions with several commercial organizations that are interested in building products around Galileo, and I am excited to see what they are going to come up with. With Galileo Initial Services the world had a new navigation signal to study and trial. In 2018 the world will have a new star to navigate by — well, a new constellation of 22 to 24 stars, I should say!
FOC. In the summer of 2018 we will launch the final part of the Galileo FOC constellation (geometrically speaking) with four more satellites taking us beyond the 24 needed for 100% coverage and minimum performance limitation from satellite geometry. The launch will also provide our first in-orbit spares, enabling us to plan for the end of life of our old validation phase satellites or otherwise supplement the constellation to improve performance.
What might we do with these in-orbit spares? Our first priority is to complete a constellation of 24 satellites in the correct orbits for minimum PDOP; as you know, a Fregat upper-stage malfunction left GSAT 0201 and 0202 in orbits too elliptical to correct fully, so the current plan is to complete the 24-satellite geometry. 0201 and 0202 are foreseen to be fully integrated in the Galileo operational system in 2018 following further testing and preparations, allowing us to have a 24+2 constellation with “hot back-up” from 0201 and 0202 contributing at around current GPS satellite levels of accuracy.
“It will not be the first — nor the last — time the partnership of ESA, the EC and the GSA has made a service available that has changed the nature of the marketplace.”
Of course, as is known to the community, the validation-phase satellite GSAT 0104 is down to single frequency, and we routinely monitor the health of all satellites. 0104 is the only satellite that has lost part of its function; designed-in redundancy has managed all other problems.
However, obviously we will be examining all options for deployment to ensure that the Galileo schedule is not impacted by in-orbit failures, and those we have experienced we have learned from and mitigated successfully without impacting the service.
The first two spares are not the end of our ability to maintain the constellation and our system performance. All four validation phase satellites will need to be replaced, and so the “Batch 3” satellite procurement will continue to regularly roll out satellites for replenishment of the constellation.
Enhancements. That won’t mean we will be resting on our laurels. In 2018 we also plan to release enhancements to the ground segment for Galileo, a process that will be a first as the system is already being operated by the GSA.
The process of managing an in-service upgrade program with the GSA is going to be new and challenging, but we have a strong engineering support team deployed as part of our working arrangement with the GSA to help ensure the process goes smoothly.
Of course, the need for GSA to be able to continue smooth operations imposes extra discipline and imposes on us a balance between stable operations and continued build-out of the infrastructure. We do not consider this to be a problem; on the contrary, the focus will be on robust operations and availability to the user.
Back at base (ESTEC in the Netherlands for Galileo and Toulouse, France, for EGNOS) we are full steam ahead on preparing the future. We are moving forward at considerable pace with our next-generation designs that develop new functionality for continuous service improvements.
Free PPP. Galileo was designed to broadcast a Commercial Service signal providing services such as precise point positioning to paying customers, but we are pleased to able to report that the EC has confirmed that this service will be provided for free by the European Union. In 2018/2019 the GSA will select the providers and get that unique, free service on the air.
In 2017 the EC confirmed the decision to implement the commercial service using E6-B with both encrypted and open components so all users could benefit for all frequency bands. Now, with the decision to make the service available free of charge, all users of Galileo, with the right type of receiver, will be able to achieve position fixes with an accuracy around 10 cm from Galileo’s first-generation constellation by 2020/2021.
The Galileo Public Regulated Service will also be a focus, with the EC soon to decide upon release dates for the first milestones on the service roadmap. The infrastructure and equipment to support a secure service is being put in place, and I can’t say more for security!
The next generation of European GNSS technology will include multi-constellation EGNOS, Galileo 2nd Generation (G2G) and a transition batch of satellites between the first and second generations to get the best technology proven in flight and working for Galileo users as soon as possible. G2G will reach its System Requirements Review stage in the first half of 2019. To be ready for that we are looking at:
clock technology and ensembles
inter satellite links
propulsion technology
flexible payloads and power allocation
5G telecoms networks standards and what we need to do ensure we provide the timing services those networks will need and new signals with time to first fix (TTFF) and power requirements for acquisition of signal that are compatible with 5G devices. Look out for a new pilot signal E1-D to move forward on this.
Open Service authentication and support for ARAIM (Advanced Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring).
Finally, 2018 will see the first contract awards of the Navigation Innovation Support Programme. This is a programme specifically designed to encourage R&D, new concepts and new products and to ensure that 2018 is not the last time ESA with the EC and its industrial partners deploy a GNSS service for GSA to operate that changes the world.
Enclosed in its protective container, Galileo Full Operational Capability (FOC) Flight Model 21 (FM21) is seen departing ESA’s ESTEC Test Centre on Aug. 24. Photos courtesy of the European Space Agency
News from the European Space Agency
The last of 22 Galileo satellites has departed the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Test Centre in the Netherlands. This concludes the single longest and largest scale test campaign in the establishment’s history, ESA said.
Cocooned in a protective container for its journey — equipped with air conditioning, temperature control and shock absorbers — the final Galileo satellite left the establishment by lorry on Aug. 24.
ESA’s Test Centre at ESTEC in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, houses a collection of test equipment to simulate all aspects of spaceflight. It is operated for ESA by private company European Test Services (ETS) B.V.
In May 2013, the Test Centre began testing the first of 22 Galileo “Full Operational Capability” (FOC) satellites, having previously performed the same function for the very first Galileo “In-Orbit Validation” satellite under a separate contract.
Pictured is a Galileo Full Operational Capability satellite being removed from the Phenix thermal vacuum chamber after a fortnight-long “hot and cold” vacuum test.
The Galileo FOC satellites had their platforms built by OHB System AG in Germany, incorporating navigation payloads coming from Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. in the United Kingdom. They then traveled on to ESTEC to be subjected to the equivalent vibration, acoustic noise, vacuum and temperature extremes that they will experience for real during their launch and orbit, plus testing of their radio systems.
With a steady stream of satellites coming off the production line, the challenge for the combined ETS and OHB team overseeing Galileo testing was to put them through all necessary tests on a rapid and efficient basis, while also keeping the Test Centre accessible to other European missions requiring its unique services.
A total of 14 FOC satellites have since joined the first four IOV satellites in orbit, forming an 18-strong constellation that began Initial Services to global users on Dec. 15, 2016. The next four FOC satellites are scheduled for launch on an Ariane on Dec. 5.
Europe’s Galileo navigation satellites orbit 23 222 km above Earth to provide positioning, navigation and timing information all across the globe.
“For the first time in more than four years, there are no Galileo satellites in the Test Centre, but hopefully this will not be the end of our association with the programme,” said Jörg Selle, managing director for ETS. “The contract for making the next eight Galileo satellites — known as Batch 3 — was also awarded to OHB last June, and ETS will be bidding for the contract to test these satellites too.”
“The availability of the ETS facilities in ESTEC have substantially contributed to the programme,” said Paul Verhoef, ESA director of the Galileo Programme and navigation-related activities. “We thank ETS for their professionalism and support over this extended period.”
The final Galileo travelled back to OHB in Germany for some final refurbishment ahead of its launch together with another three satellites in December.
UK’s SSTL to build third batch of Galileo navigation payloads
News from the European Space Agency
Europe’s Galileo navigation constellation will gain an additional eight satellites, bringing it to completion, thanks to a contract signed at the Paris Air and Space Show.
The contract to build and test another eight Galileo satellites was awarded to a consortium led by prime contractor OHB, with Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd overseeing their navigation platforms.
This is the third such satellite signing: the first four In Orbit Validation satellites were built by a consortium led by Airbus Defence and Space, while production of the next 22 Full Operational Capability (FOC) satellites was led by OHB.
These new batch satellites are based on the already qualified design of the previous Galileo FOC satellites, except for changes on the unit level – such as improvements based on lessons learned and reacting to obsolescence of parts.
ESA’s Director of the Galileo Programme and Navigation-related Activities, Paul Verhoef, signed the contract with the CEO of OHB, Marco Fuchs and OHB Navigation Director Wolfgang Paetsch, in the presence of ESA Director General Jan Woerner and the EC’s Deputy Director-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Pierre Delsaux.
“This procurement from OHB will enable the completion of the Galileo constellation and have reserves both in-orbit and on-ground,” said Director Verhoef. “This signing delivers the necessary infrastructure robustness that is essential for the provision of Galileo services worldwide.”
ESA signed the contract on behalf of the EU represented by the European Commission – Galileo’s owner. The Commission and ESA have a delegation agreement by which ESA acts as design and procurement agent on behalf of the Commission.
Signing Ceremony
Galileo is Europe’s own satellite navigation system, providing an array of positioning, navigation and timing services to Europe and the world.
With 18 satellites now in orbit, Galileo began Initial Services on Dec. 15, 2016, the first step towards full operational capability.
Further launches will continue to build the satellite constellation, which will gradually improve the system performance and availability worldwide. The launch by Ariane 5 of another four satellites is due to take place later this year.
The full Galileo constellation will consist of 24 operational satellites in three orbital planes plus orbital spares, intended to prevent any interruption in service.
These new eight satellites will provide the constellation with in-orbit and on-ground spares. ESA and the Commission are also in the process of developing an improved Galileo Second Generation for the next decade.
Galileo is now providing three service types, the availability of which will continue to be improved.
ESA’s Director of the Galileo Programme and Navigation-related Activities, Paul Verhoef (right), signing the contract of behalf of the European Commission, shakes hands with the CEO of OHB, Marco Fuchs beside OHB Navigation Director Wolfgang Paetsch, in the presence of ESA Director General Jan Woerner (in background) and the EC’s Deputy Director-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Pierre Delsaux.
Galileo coverage
The Open Service is a free mass-market service for users with enabled chipsets in, for instance, smartphones and car navigation systems. Fully interoperable with GPS, combined coverage will deliver more accurate and reliable positioning for users.
Galileo’s Public Regulated Service is an encrypted, robust service for government-authorized users such as civil protection, fire brigades and the police.
The Search and Rescue Service is Europe’s contribution to the long-running Cospas–Sarsat international emergency beacon location. The time between someone locating a distress beacon when lost at sea or in the wilderness will be reduced from up to three hours to just 10 minutes, with its location determined to within 5 km, rather than the previous 10 km.
The public will begin benefiting as Galileo-capable devices enter the marketplace: 17 companies, representing more than 95% of global supply, now produce Galileo-ready chips.
SSTL continues Galileo work
“SSTL is delighted to have been selected to build the third batch of navigation payloads needed to complete the initial Galileo Constellation,” said Gary Lay, SSTL’s director of navigation. “I am confident that the OHB-SSTL solution offered the lowest risk and best value for money, and I believe that our selection as payload providers for the third time in succession demonstrates a high regard for our work.”
SSTL’s state-of-the-art Galileo FOC payload comprises different units including European sourced atomic clocks, navigation signal generators, high power traveling wave tube amplifiers and antennas. SSTL’s payload proposal for Batch 3 is for a recurrent build of the existing payload, with an evolution of the atomic clocks to incorporate advances made under the European GNSS Evolution Programme.
Fourteen of SSTL’s Galileo FOC navigation payloads are currently operational in orbit, with a further eight payloads already delivered to OHB for integration and test.
SSTL has been involved in the Galileo program since 2003 with the design and build of GIOVE-A, Galileo’s pathfinder mission. GIOVE-A was launched in 2005 and is still operational today, providing valuable data about the radiation environment in Medium Earth Orbit. An experimental GPS receiver on board GIOVE-A is also used to map out the antenna patterns of GPS satellites for use in planning navigation systems for future high altitude missions in Geostationary orbit, and beyond into deep space.
The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed a contract with Thales Alenia Space for an upgrade to Europe’s EGNOS satellite navigation augmentation system, which underpins the safety-critical use of satnav across Europe, according to ESA.
Designed by ESA and being exploited by Europe’s GNSS Agency (GSA), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) improves the precision of GPS signals over most European territory, while also providing continuous and reliable updates on the “integrity” of these GPS signals.
A network of ground monitoring stations throughout Europe performs an independent measurement of GPS signals, so that corrections can be calculated, and then passed to users immediately via a trio of geostationary satellites.
The result is that the EGNOS-augmented signals are guaranteed to meet the extremely high performance standards set out by the International Civil Aviation Organisation standard, adapted for Europe by Eurocontrol, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation.
Paul Verhoef, ESA director of the Galileo Program, and Philippe Blatt, VP Thales Alenia Space France, sign on June 6 a contract for an upgrade of EGNOS.
Paul Verhoef, ESA’s director of the Galileo programme and navigation-related activities, signed the contract at ESA Headquarters in Paris with Philippe Blatt, vice president of Thales Alenia Space France.
ESA is performing the procurement of EGNOS Version 2.4.2 under the overall program authority of the GSA, which oversees both EGNOS and Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation system.
Two upgraded EGNOS releases will be provided over the course of the development: EGNOS V2.4.2I and EGNOS V2.4.2A.
The releases will resolve various obsolescence issues related to EGNOS’s central processing facility, based in Toulouse, France — which generates the corrections and integrity information to be broadcast across the European continent — to ensure continuity of EGNOS services into the future, including safety-of-life services, to an ever-expanding community of users.
The new contract includes:
a refreshment and enhancement of the Central Processing Facility design without algorithm modification
an optimized qualification process
a guarantee of full compliance to safety-critical software development requirements
the performance of end-to-end verification activities extending to the three geostationary satellites used by the system
ensuring compliance to a new set of technical requirements and international standards.
