Technology developed as part of Europe’s satellite navigation-augmenting EGNOS system has been sold to South Korea to serve its national equivalent system.
Thales Alenia Space has signed a contract with South Korea’s space agency, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, to supply ground infrastructure for the Korea Augmentation Satellite System (KASS) on behalf of the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
EGNOS is Europe’s first venture into satellite navigation. EGNOS broadcasts augmented information through a trio of geostationary satellites linked to a network of monitoring ground stations, to sharpen the accuracy and reliability of GPS signals across the continent.
The infrastructure is derived from that developed by Thales Alenia Space under contract to ESA and in its role as prime contractor for EGNOS, which has been operational since 2009 for general use and since 2011 for safety-of-life applications, including aviation.
Designed by ESA and being exploited by Europe’s Global Navigation Satellite System Agency, EGNOS improves the precision of GPS signals over most European territory, while also providing continuous and reliable updates on the integrity of the GPS signals.
A network of 40 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 number 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.
Satellite Based Augmentation Systems (SBAS) such as EGNOS and the U.S. Satellite Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) operate by ensuring the integrity and positioning accuracy of GPS, as well as, in the decade to come, the European Galileo, Russian GLONASS and Chinese BeiDou systems.
KASS is projected to be the ninth regional SBAS in service when it becomes operational at the end of the decade. The various systems are designed to be fully interoperable, ensuring air traffic safety as aircraft move between different zones, and jointly providing an almost worldwide service.
Harris Corporation delivered the first of 34 modernized receivers to support the GPS Next-Generation Operational Control System (OCX). They will receive the signals sent by the current GPS satellite constellation plus the new signals sent by the next generation GPS III — 13 military and civilian signals in all.
The receiver was shipped to the prime contractor, Raytheon Company, in Aurora, Colorado, after it passed a critical electromagnetic interference test, the first of many stringent qualification requirements. Though the receivers will be placed throughout the world, this first production unit will be installed in Aurora as OCX software development and integration continues.
OCX will replace the existing ground control system that receives signals from the 31 operational GPS satellites already orbiting Earth. Only OCX will be able to receive and decrypt all GPS III military and civil signals, however.
In addition to receivers, Harris has delivered 14 ground encryptors that will help protect the GPS signal. Harris also is providing critical software elements, which provide the fundamental navigation data to the GPS satellites and enable U.S. Air Force operators to better know and monitor the exact position and timing of the GPS constellation.
Risk Reduction Testing Completed for GPS OCX
Image: Raytheon
Raytheon reached a milestone in development of the GPS Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX), completing a series of Risk Reduction functional checkouts of OCX Block 1 capabilities, with a focus on OCX software.
This activity integrated iteration 1.5 of the OCX Block 1 Master Control Station with the GPS System Simulator and ran operational scenarios, representing the first end-to-end integration of available Block 1 capabilities.
The testing included GPS constellation management and sustainment, demonstrating OCX’s abilities for precision navigation and timing capabilities in a fully cyber-hardened environment.
The test also included running Kalman filters and generating GPS satellite navigation uploads. Future development will add to and expand capability to include both the civil and military modernized signals.
OCX’s development is delivered in “blocks,” with Block 0 comprising the Launch and Checkout System to take GPS III satellites into early orbit. Block 1 is built on Block 0 and delivers the full OCX capability, which allows the Air Force to transition from its current GPS ground controls to the modernized and secure GPS OCX master control station.
GPS OCX is being developed by Raytheon under contract to the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center.
M-Code User Equipment Certified
L-3 Communications announced that its next-generation military code (M-code) GPS user equipment has successfully completed the final step in a government security certification process. L-3’s M-code GPS features advanced user equipment technology, increasing soldiers’ ability to resist enemy jamming and spoofing and performing significantly better in contested environments. The development and certification of this technology was performed under the Air Force Military GPS User Equipment (MGUE) program led by the GPS Directorate.
Certification review was performed by an independent government review team, with a focus on the security design of the L-3 GPS User Equipment. The goal of these new security standards is to further protect the integrity of the navigation and timing solutions and provide required safeguards for critical information inside GPS User Equipment.
Work on this project will be done by L-3 Interstate Electronics Corporation (L-3 IEC), which is part of the Precision Engagement and Training sector within L-3’s Electronic Systems business segment.
The first eight GPS III satellites are under contract and in production at Lockheed Martin’s GPS III Processing Facility outside of Denver.
GPS III Satellites 9 and 10 Procured, Launches Targeted for 2022
The U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center awarded a contract option to Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company to procure two additional GPS III satellites, space vehicles nine and 10 of the next generation. The contract option procures long lead and production hardware.
“The GPS III SV 9 and 10 satellites are expected to be ready for launch in 2022, thus sustaining the GPS constellation and the global utility the world has come to expect,” said Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, the Space and Missile Systems Center’s commander.
The Lockheed Martin team is finishing up final testing and integration activities on the first GPS III satellite, GPS III SV01, and is preparing to deliver it to the Air Force later this year. The second satellite, GPS III SV02, is poised to have its major functional systems fully integrated into one space vehicle prior to starting its own environmental testing. GPS III SV03 also is beginning to take form in the company’s production clean room as its major subcomponents are being assembled. All eight of the first set of GPS III satellites are in various stages of production at Lockheed Martin’s GPS III Processing Facility outside of Denver.
The government expects to compete future purchases of GPS III satellites, beginning with GPS III SV 11. This competition will maintain the current technical baseline of GPS III and will add additional hosted payloads to increase system accuracy, search-and-rescue capability, and universal S-band compatibility.
European GNSS Service Centre Opens
The European GNSS Agency (GSA) is gearing up to assume its operational role for Galileo in early 2017. This summer, the GSA formally accepted the Loyola de Palacio facility in Madrid, Spain, that houses the European GNSS Service Centre (GSC). This is a significant milestone in the development of the programme and its service provision as Galileo’s “door to the GNSS world.”
GSA already oversees the operation and service provision for the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), along with managing the security accreditation and general security provision for both programmes.
The GSC offers 1,100 square metres of space and employs over 40 people. Since 2013, the core team at GSC has been providing limited services and working as a precursor to GSC v1. Its key work includes supporting the lead up to Galileo Initial Services provision, along with operating the GSC Helpdesk, disseminating orbital products to the search-and-rescue community, supporting GNSS-related research and industrial activity, and monitoring user satisfaction.
Once operational, GSC v1 will be connected to the Galileo core system, enabling the long-anticipated Commercial Service. This service is expected to enter operations by mid-2017.
The eighth edition of the Geospatial World Forum took place May 23–26 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, attracting professionals from the surveying and geospatial information system (GIS) sectors. I attended the event on May 24 and took part in a workshop that looked at the benefits of Galileo and EGNOS in geospatial applications in the context of the imminent launch of Galileo initial services.
An industry survey undertaken by the GSA indicates that already more than 80 percent of GNSS receivers for surveying and mapping use are EGNOS-enabled, while 77 percent of geospatial reference network providers have enough information to upgrade Galileo and will be ready to provide a service by 2017. All good news. On the less positive side, more than 60% of professional surveyors did not know about EGNOS!
The workshop also talked up the potential for synergies between Galileo GNSS and Copernicus Earth Observation (EO) systems — a topic of immense interest at the European Space Solutions as well. Hans Dufourmont from the European Environment Agency (EEA) highlighted the use of GNSS to track animal species and monitor migration paths when considering development opportunities. He saw a huge potential for synergies between geopositioning and surface imaging going forward.
Maurice Barbieri, president of the Council of European Geodetic Surveyors (CLGE), also saw a “clear role for Galileo” in the surveying community with its potential ability to meet centimeter accuracy requirements much more than for EGNOS.
He also speculated about the value of establishing a European Geoinformatic Agency that might coordinate the provision of European GNSS and EO data. He felt the private business community would appreciate such simplification.
A sea-based test is demonstrating the potential of extending satnav augmentation coverage into north polar regions, offering a safety-of-life standard of navigation performance to users including shipping or aircraft in flight.
Norwegian research vessel Gunnerus, owned by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, is equipped to pick up satnav signals from GPS and GLONASS as well as augmentation signals specially generated for the test, modeled on Europe’s existing European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System (EGNOS).
Norwegian research vessel Gunnerus, owned by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. (Photo: ESA)
Gunnerus is making use of the signals during five days of sailing off Trondheim. The demonstration is part of the Arctic Test Bed project, conducted within the European Global Navigations Satellite System Evolutions Programme (EGEP) of ESA.
The ESA-designed EGNOS improves the precision of US GPS signals over most European territory, while also providing continuous and reliable updates on their integrity.
A 40-strong network of ground monitoring stations perform 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 a several-fold increase in precision.
“Simply due to Earth’s curvature, EGNOS signals are not visible above about 70 degrees north, but they are needed to support polar routing,” explains Marco Porretta, overseeing the Arctic Test Bed project.
To investigate possible methods for improving Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS) performance in this Arctic region, the test campaign will assess the benefits of augmentation for various types of satnav signals: single-frequency GPS; dual-frequency GPS; and dual-constellation dual-frequency, where GPS signals are combined with those of its Russian counterpart, thus increasing the number of observations.
“The planned next-decade upgrade of EGNOS, along with other augmentation systems operated over other continents (such as the U.S. equivalent Wide Area Augmentation System, WAAS), will perform multi-constellation augmentation as standard,” adds Marco. “That means data from this test case should be especially valuable to support interoperability between future augmentation systems.”
The Arctic Test Bed makes use of some EGNOS reference stations along the north of Europe, along with additional stations in locations including Greenland, Jan Mayen Island, Spitsbergen and Norway.
Model of the well-known Oct. 30, 2003, Halloween solar storm produced by the MIDAS tomographic ionospheric model from the University of Bath. (Image; ESA)
Marco explains, “These stations will allow specific monitoring of the ionosphere — the electrically active segment of Earth’s atmosphere — in the Arctic region. The ionosphere is significant because it is an important source of satnav signal delay, or in some cases can cause receivers to lose signal lock due to ionospheric scintillations.”
With geostationary satellites out of sight, navigation corrections for the Arctic Test Bed will be transmitted via terrestrial radio. In future, an operational version of the system could either stick with this solution or rely on other satellite-based means of dissemination from non-geostationary orbit.
The all-important generation of the augmentation correction message will take place at a processing center in Hønefoss, Norway, using adapted EGNOS algorithms.
An operational version of the Arctic Test Bed could potentially extend augmentation coverage to as high as 85 degrees north, as high as Greenland, extending to the edge of WAAS coverage.
The Arctic Test Bed project was initiated by ESA, with Kongsberg Seatex serving as prime contractor, GMV Aerospace and Defence, Thales Alenia Space France, Logica, Terma, the Norwegian Mapping Authority, Technical University of Denmark, Septentrio and the University of Calgary.
On May 3, the first LPV-200 approaches were implemented at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (LFPG) — the first such approaches to be implemented in Europe. The milestone follows publication of the EGNOS-based procedures on April 28, according to the European GNSS Agency (GSA), which manages EGNOS on behalf of the European Commission.
LPV-200 enables aircraft approach procedures that are operationally equivalent to a CAT I instrument landing system (ILS) procedures. This allows for lateral and angular vertical guidance during the Final Approach Segment (FAS) without requiring visual contact with the ground until a Decision Height (DH) down to only 200 feet above the runway (LPV minima as low as 200 feet).
The first LPV-200 approach in Europe took place May 3 at Charles de Gaulle Airport.
These EGNOS — European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service — based approaches are considered ILS look-alike, as the LPV-200 service level is compliant with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Annex 10 Category I precision approach performance requirements, but without the need for the expensive ground infrastructure required for ILS.
“EGNOS LPV-200 is now the most cost effective and safest solution for airports requiring CAT I approach procedures,” says GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides. “The involvement of major aircraft manufacturers confirms that this service is a real added-value for civil aviation setting the basis for a better rationalization of nav-aids in European airports.”
The publication of LPV-200 procedures provides numerous benefits, including:
Reduced delays, diversions and cancellations thanks, to the lower minima, potentially reducing the operational costs for flying to this destination.
Increased continuity of airport operations in case of ILS outage or maintenance.
Enhanced safety levels, as the LPV-200 procedures can serve effectively as a CAT I approach procedures and can also be used as a back-up to ILS based procedures.
Improved efficiency of operations, lowering fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and decreasing aviation’s environmental impact.
The LPV-200 Service provides European Airports with the means to implement the most demanding PBN operations as defined by ICAO,” explained ESSP CEO Thierry Racaud. “We congratulate the efforts of those involved in achieving this important milestone for the European aviation community.”
DSNA, the French Air Navigation Service Provider, pioneered these procedures as an outcome of the work co-financed by the European Union and carried out since the GSA declared the EGNOS LPV-200 service operational on 29 September 2015.
Maurice Georges, DSNA CEO, added, “The new LPV-200 approach procedures now implemented at Paris-CDG aim to demonstrate that the SBAS technology, EGNOS in Europe, is a Category I performance approach solution that is reliable. We are convinced that SBAS is a fundamental technology to modernize our navigation infrastructure. Following this first implementation, LPV-200 approach procedures will be progressively deployed over our IFR runway-ends network.”
The approach was been flown by ATR 42-600, Dassault Falcon 2000 aircraft and Airbus A350, with positive pilot feedback. “The LPV system is much more stable and more reliable in terms of safety, but also more efficient than the ILS approach. It really makes a difference,” remarked Eric Delesalle, ATR Chief Pilot, after the first LPV 200 landing on runway 26L at CDG airport.
“The accuracy and stability of the LPV guidance is really amazing, much better than with ILS. Lowering the LPV minima down to 200ft in Europe is a great improvement enabled by EGNOS, and is very valuable for business aviation operations,” confirmed Jean-Louis Dumas, Dassault Flight Test Pilot.
Future implementation. The GSA expects that by launching the first LPV-200 procedure at such an international hub as Charles de Gaulle, it will pave the way for the publication of additional LPV-200 service level procedures at other European airports. In fact, it is already confirmed that Vienna International (LOWW) is set to be the next airport to publish LPV 200 procedures.
Galileo satellites 9 and 10 are functioning perfectly, and the initial series of flight operations is continuing as part of the critical launch and early orbit phase, according to a European Space Agency Rocket Science blog by Daniel Scuka, senior editor for Spacecraft Operations at ESOC, ESA’s European Space Operations Centre, Darmstadt, Germany.
Galileo 9 and 10 lifted off together on Sept. 11 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana atop a Soyuz launcher, bringing the total number of Galileo satellites in orbit to 10.
“The pair are being stepped through an intense series of check-outs, confirmations, mode changes, configurations and health verifications by the joint ESA/CNES mission team working around the clock at ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany,” according to the blog. “The team are now focusing on conducting a series of thruster burns designed to start the drift of the two satellites toward their target orbital positions.”
“Following the burns performed during the LEOP (launch and early orbit phase), the satellites will continue naturally drifting, ending up in their final desired operational orbits at about 23,222 km after another set of thruster burns, planned to achieve fine positioning in orbit, around the end of October,” said Liviu Stefanov, co-flight director from ESA.
With the excellent performance of the spacecraft and the ground teams, the LEOP is expected to wrap up soon.
All the Soyuz stages performed as planned during the September 11 launch, relieving anxieties tied to a faulty Soyuz launch in September of last year. The Fregat upper stage released the satellites into their target orbit close to 23,500 km altitude, around 3 hours and 48 minutes after liftoff.
“The deployment of Europe’s Galileo system is rapidly gathering pace,” said Jan Woerner, director general of the European Space Agency (ESA). “By steadily boosting the number of satellites in space, together with new stations on the ground across the world, Galileo will soon have a global reach. The day of Galileo’s full operational capability is approaching. It will be a great day for Europe.”
Two more Galileo satellites are scheduled for launch by end of this year. These satellites have completed testing at ESA’s ESTEC technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, with the next two satellites also undergoing their own test campaigns.
More Galileo satellites are being manufactured by OHB in Bremen, Germany, with navigation payloads coming from Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd in the UK, in turn utilizing elements sourced from all across Europe.
“Production of the satellites has attained a regular rhythm,” said Didier Faivre, ESA’s Director of Galileo and Navigation-related Activities. “At the same time, all Galileo testing performed up to now — including that of the ground segment — has been returning extremely positive results.
“And while the continuing deployment of Galileo remains our priority, along with exploitation of EGNOS — Europe’s already operational satellite navigation augmentation system — ESA is also looking farther ahead.
“With the European Commission, we are doing the technical work to ensure Galileo goes on forever — locking in continuity of Europe’s navigation services into the long term, to meet performance on a par with the other global satellite navigation systems.”
Next year Galileo deployment will be boosted by operation of a specially customized Ariane 5 launcher that can double, from two to four, the number of satellites that can be inserted into orbit with a single launch.
European SBAS Advances, Improves
After extensive ground and space testing, the SES-5 GEO satellite has entered into the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) operational platform, broadcasting EGNOS Signal-In-Space (SIS). Replacing Inmarsat-4F2, SES-5 will ensure reliable EGNOS services until 2026, and will enable a range of performance improvements. In particular, EGNOS will offer even greater stability during periods of high ionospheric activity.
“SES-5 is the first step of the complete renewal of the EGNOS Space Segment, securing the EGNOS services for the next decade and the future transition to the dual-frequency multi-constellation services,” said Carlo des Dorides, European GNSS Agency executive director. “It will be completed by the introduction of the ASTRA-5B signals and the procurement of a new EGNOS payload which are both planned for 2016.”
SES-5, carrying EGNOS L1 and L5 band payloads, was launched in July 2012. The integration of a second EGNOS SBAS L1/L5 band payload on SES ASTRA-5B GEO satellite is currently ongoing. The introduction of the second SES GEO satellite for EGNOS is planned at the end of 2016.
GAO Report Spotlghts OCX Delays, Cost Increases
According to a report released by the U.S Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Sept. 9, titled “Actions Needed to Address Ground System Development Problems and User Equipment Production Readiness,” the Air Force has experienced significant difficulties developing the GPS next-generation operational control system (OCX). According to the report, completion of OCX will require $1.1 billion and four years more than planned to deliver OCX. The report Highlights section states, “The Air Force began OCX development in 2010,” and “accelerated OCX development in 2012 to meet optimistic GPS III satellite launch timeframes even as OCX development problems and costs grew, and then paused development in 2013 to address problems and resolve what it believed were root causes.
“However . . . OCX cost and schedule growth have persisted due in part to a high defect rate, which may result from systemic issues. Further, unrealistic cost and schedule estimates limit OSD visibility into and oversight over OCX progress. “ The full report may be read online.
During the course of development the Air Force made changes, updating the specifications for connections to other government systems and in the M-code signal requirements. Officials for Raytheon, the prime OCX contractor, estimated that, as a result of various modifications “nearly two-thirds of the requirements baseline as of [preliminary design review] had changed by mid-2012.” Subsequent software updates and modifications contributed to a high defect rate in the OCX software. “
If you have requirements change at the same time you’re developing the software, it’s more likely that you could have a higher amount of defects that you have to change after the fact,” said Matthew Gilligan, Raytheon’s vice president for navigation and environmental solutions.
Europe’s ninth and tenth Galileo satellites being fueled by technicians in protective SCAPE suits within the Guiana Space Centre’s 3SB preparation building on Aug. 24. (Photo:ESA)
It has been a good late summer for the European Galileo programme. The latest launch on the night of 10 and 11 September has got the number of orbiting satellites in the EU’s GNSS constellation into double figures at last, and one-third of the way towards the ultimate target of 30.
The European Space Agency’s (ESA) press releases around the launch were positively euphoric, and there were many pictures of smiling ESA launch teams. And so there should be. The two new satellites (the fifth and sixth fully operational capability (FOC) versions named Alba and Oriana) will now inch their way towards their operational orbits and will soon be joined by two more satellites to be launched in December.
However, as we already know, one of the in-orbit validation (IOV) satellites (Sif) is not very well, having suffered a power failure in late May, and the first two FOC satellites (Doresa and Milena) ended up in the wrong orbit. At the considerable expense of a significant part of their fuel payloads, these two craft are now established in a more useful orbit and are the current subject of testing to determine the exact contribution they can make to the Galileo services.
The Commission and ESA are convinced that the outcome will be positive, with Doresa and Milena able to contribute to the network — or at least not degrade the network’s navigation performance. A final decision on if and/or how these two satellites integrate into the system will be made sometime next year.
In any case, they will be used for the provision of Galileo’s Search and Rescue services. And they are also to be made available for scientific research. One possible science area that has been discussed is to ‘repurpose’ the satellites to measure the slow down of time due to the Earth’s gravitational field as predicted by Einstein’s theory of relativity.
However, more worryingly, there are rumours of various glitches and performance issues with other in-orbit members of the constellation. Hopefully, they are just rumours; only time will tell.
Position Paper
Not surprisingly, those wanting to use the system are getting a tad frustrated. On Sept. 1, Galileo Services, a non-profit organisation involving 180 members including most of the active players in the EU GNSS industry, published a position paper entitled “Europe Must Succeed in the Global Navigation Market Race.”
The organisation’s aim is to foster an end-to-end vision of the Galileo system that can fully respond to user and market needs. The paper looks at the options to strengthen the competitiveness of the European GNSS downstream sector in the global market and calls for better coordination between the public and private sectors to develop new technologies, applications, services and industries in Europe as a key factor for success.
In particular, the paper stresses the necessity to urgently establish a European strategic plan to enhance Europe’s GNSS downstream industry’s competitiveness and to foster the uptake of the European GNSS, Galileo and the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), with the aim to corner 33 percent of the global GNSS downstream market for Europe by 2025.
Galileo Services argues that unless an effective and long-term strategy is in place during the Galileo early services exploitation phase — from 2016, the current official start date for services — the window of opportunity for European industry will be closed. Europe’s goal of achieving GNSS autonomy is also at risk. The paper warns that Galileo is just one of three new GNSS solutions, along with the Russian GLONASS and Chinese BeiDou, that are complementing the U.S.’s GPS — and most applications do not require four GNSS constellations.
The target of European autonomy will be achieved if and only if Galileo is widely used with equipment designed and manufactured in Europe, as well as applications and services developed in Europe, concludes the paper.
More R&D Support
Part of the strategy should be enhanced support for EU GNSS technologies and applications. The European GNSS Agency (GSA) has just launched a new research support channel for GNSS chipset and receiver technologies in Europe.
The Fundamental Elements programme has a projected budget of EUR 100 million over the period 2015 to 2020 and is part, says the GSA, of an overall strategy of market uptake initiatives in accordance with EU regulations. “For the first time, EU regulation provides a financing tool for the market uptake of European GNSS chipsets and receivers,” said GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides in launching the new programme.
The Fundamental Elements programme complements the EU’s current Horizon 2020 research programme that focuses on adoption of Galileo and EGNOS via content and application development.
Two types of financing will be available via the Fundamental Elements programme: grants and procurement. Grants will be provided to cover up to 70 percent of funding requirements for a project, and intellectual property rights will stay with the beneficiary under the condition that the developed product is actively commercialised.
Procurement (at 100 percent funding) will be used only in cases where keeping intellectual property rights allow for the better fulfilment of the programme’s overall objectives. For example, by licensing it to different potential manufacturers rather than creating a monopoly supplier.
Meanwhile, EGNOS Continues
Of course, one EU GNSS, EGNOS, is operational. The GSA proudly announced that after extensive testing, the latest space segment — the SES-5 GEO satellite — is now fully functional. This will ensure the long-term service of EGNOS until at least 2026 and enable a range of performance improvements, including greater stability during periods of high ionospheric activity.
The SES-5 is a first step in the complete renewal of the EGNOS Space Segment, including the transition to dual-frequency, multi-constellation services. The renewal will be completed by the introduction of the ASTRA-5B signals and the procurement of a new EGNOS payload, both planned for 2016.
In parallel, the GSA and ESA have met formally to launch activities to develop the system further following the signing of a working agreement for EGNOS in July. Under the agreement, ESA will be responsible for the development and procurement of future EGNOS evolutions, such as the forthcoming release (V2.4.2), and a new generation of the EGNOS system (V3).
One of the annual gatherings of the whole European GNSS value chain will take place in October in Berlin with the Satellite Masters conference and awards ceremony. We can be sure that comforting words will be spoken by persons from the Commission, the GSA and ESA about their future plans and present progress. But the real buzz of this event is from the showcase of new ideas and applications for Galileo and EGNOS from pretty much every corner of Europe and beyond.
Despite the uncertainties expressed by some big industrial players, and slow progress in establishing the actual infrastructure, there is still an entrepreneurial enthusiasm from the ‘small guys’ to get involved in this space-based business.
I have attended these events for a few years now. One of the most enthusiastic winners of recent years is JOHAN, a sports application named after renowned Dutch soccer player and now sport commentator Johan Cruyff.
The application is the brainchild of Dutch graduate Jelle Reichert, whom I first met when he won the 2013 European Satellite Navigation Competition with this innovative EGNOS-enhanced tracking idea. “We are now operational with our first four clients! And in a final testing phase we are making the system ready for a commercial launch at the beginning of 2016,” he tells me. “We also just have an investor on board, which allows us to hire personnel and take the final steps to become really commercially ready.”
In just 18 months, Jelle’s idea has been brought into life with support from GSA and ESA. The JOHAN sports tracker and application helps improve teams by monitoring on-field performance. The system’s small, lightweight trackers, or pebbles, use GNSS technology such as EGNOS to ensure reliability and precision.
The trackers are small and light so they can fit into training vests worn by players across a variety of field sports, though early adopters have all been football teams so far. The trackers measure location, speed, distance, acceleration and orientation statistics, which are then visualized in an online data platform for coaches and players. This allows coaches to monitor workload and performance, and get tactical information and event analysis and ensure players’ strengths are used to the whole team’s advantage. Players can spot weaknesses and improve their individual game over time.
“You can see who is training too hard and who has a higher chance of injury, as well as who is strong in which performance aspects, such as endurance, sprint, agility or recovery,” explains Jelle.
I look forward to hearing about lots more grassroots GNSS innovation in Berlin.
And Finally … An Out-of-This-World App?
Take me to the moon! And why not, indeed? It appears that Galileo could be a vital part of an interplanetary navigation system. Or at least it could help (with GPS) spacecraft to routinely navigate to the moon.
A paper in Acta Astronautica highlights the strict requirements in terms of performance, flexibility and cost for all the spacecraft subsystems required to navigate to the moon. GNSS could introduce an easier way to provide an autonomous orbit determination system using an on-board GNSS receiver. While GNSS receivers have already been used successfully to pilot craft in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), their use for very High Earth Orbit (HEO) up to and including the Moon is an active research area.
The study from researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) made use of the Spirent GSS8000 multi-GNSS constellation simulator, which supports simultaneously the GPS and Galileo systems with L1, L5, E1 and E5 frequency bands. It showed that GNSS signals can be tracked up to the Moon’s surface, but would need new, more sensitive GNSS receiver technology. The paper describes a possible navigation solution that uses a double constellation GPS-Galileo receiver aided by an on-board orbital filter system to improve the accuracy of the navigation solution and achieve the required sensitivity. Without the filter, position error below 700 metres is possible, but the orbital filter increases the position accuracy to within about 100 metres.
Vincenzo Capuano from the EPFL team tells me that a further paper on the use of an GPS L1 C/A based orbital filter for Moon transfer orbits will be published soon, which also shows an achievable accuracy of a few hundred meters. So who needs expensive tracking stations for a flight to the moon?
But the work also has a very practical down-to-Earth application. The EPFL team is developing more sensitive GNSS receivers to pick up these weak signals, and the new receivers could find applications on Earth where current receivers often struggle to get a location, such as inside buildings or in built-up areas, where signals are weak.
The European GNSS Agency (GSA) has launched a new research and development funding mechanism supporting development of Galileo chipsets and receivers, intended to enable the adoption of Galileo and EGNOS-powered services across all market segments. The Fundamental Elements programme supports activities that will be carried out from 2015-2020 with a projected budget of EUR 100 million.
Fundamental Elements is part of an overall strategy of market uptake initiatives led by the GSA and in accordance with EU regulation.
“For the first time, EU regulation provides a financing tool for the market uptake of European GNSS chipsets and receivers,” said GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides. “The GSA will be instrumental in ensuring that the new Fundamental Elements programme contributes to the successful integration of Galileo and EGNOS.”
Fundamental Elements complements the EU’s Horizon 2020 research programme. While Horizon 2020 aims to foster adoption of Galileo and EGNOS via content and application development, Fundamental Elements projects will focus on supporting the development of innovative chipset and receiver technologies.
Fundamental Elements will provide two types of financing: grants and procurement. Grants will be provided with financing currently foreseen for up to 70 percent of the total value of the grant agreement. Intellectual property rights will stay with the beneficiary under the condition that the developed product is aimed at commercialization.
In the case of grants, the GSA publishes two annual Grant Plans, one for EGNOS and another for Galileo. These plans indicate the envisaged grants to be awarded per year. The Fundamental Elements grants are included in these plans and can be consulted before the publication of the Call for Proposals. The annual Grant Plans include a brief description of the projects and the indicative budget and timings. Procurement will be used only in cases where keeping intellectual property rights allow for the better fulfillment of the programme’s objectives.
After extensive ground and space testing, the SES-5 GEO satellite has entered into the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) operational platform, broadcasting EGNOS Signal-In-Space (SIS), according to the European GNSS Agency (GSA).
SES-5 — which replaces Inmarsat-4F2 — will ensure reliable EGNOS services until 2026. It has been introduced through EGNOS System Release V241M, which will enable a range of performance improvements. In particular, EGNOS will offer even greater stability during periods of high ionospheric activity.
“SES-5 is the first step of the complete renewal of the EGNOS Space Segment, securing the EGNOS services for the next decade and the future transition to the dual-frequency multi-constellation services,” said Carlo des Dorides, GSA Executive Director. “It will be completed by the introduction of the ASTRA-5B signals and the procurement of a new EGNOS payload which are both planned for 2016.”
SES-5, carrying EGNOS L1 and L5 band payloads, was launched in July 2012. The integration of a second EGNOS SBAS L1/L5 band payload on SES ASTRA-5B GEO satellite is currently ongoing. The introduction of this second SES GEO satellite for EGNOS is planned at the end of 2016. SES won the contract following an open-tender procedure.
“SES is looking forward to many years of successful operation in delivering EGNOS services to the European citizens and beyond,” said Ferdinand Kayser, chief commercial officer at SES.
EGNOS is operated by the European Satellite Services Provider (ESSP), under contract by the GSA on behalf of the European Commission.
EGNOS Service Provision Workshop 2015 will be held in Copenhagen September 29-30. The workshop is sponsored by the European Satellite Services Provider (ESSP).
The agenda, now available online, includes program and status updates on EGNOS on Day 1, as well as a focus on aviation. Included are an update on the EGNOS Safety-of-Life Service for aviation and several sessions focused on successful EGNOS implementation stories in aviation.
On Day 2, sessions include EGNOS market status and the adoption plan, EDAS for added value applications, E-GNSS benefits in the environmental domain, EGNOS in the maritime application domain and EGNOS in land application domain.
To learn more or to register, go to the ESSP website.
EGNOS demonstration equipment aboard an Airbus ATR-42. (Photo by Tim Reynolds)
Toulouse, France, an aerospace city and the center of the French aerospace industry, was the birthplace of EGNOS, Europe’s satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS), in 1994. So it was appropriate that the first-ever EGNOS Flight Event was organized there in May by the European GNSS Agency (GSA) and the European Commission.
EGNOS is the acronym for European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service. It is also songe — the French word for “dream’”— spelled backwards and, according to Jean-Luc Moudenc, mayor of Toulouse, that is how the name originated.
The dream is now very much a reality. Since its certification for civil aviation in 2011, EGNOS has made steady progress in implementation. Today, 111 airports in 15 countries across Europe benefit from EGNOS, and many more are preparing for implementation — 171 LPV (localizer performance with vertical guidance) and 86 BARO approaches are already certified for use.
The EGNOS Flight Event was organized in collaboration with Airbus and brought together aviation media and other sector stakeholders for a briefing and demonstration of EGNOS, how it works, its benefits for aviation and a glimpse at its future.
The state-of-the-art Airbus A350 WXB is the first wide-body airliner equipped with the SLS. (Photo by Tim Reynolds)
EGNOS for Airbus
It was clear that Airbus sees integration of EGNOS, and SBAS generally, into the avionics of its product offerings, from helicopters to the giant Beluga transport plane, as very much part of the future.
A highlight of the event was a “show and tell” with the Airbus A350 WXB — a real beauty of an airplane. Participants were given a tour of this new state-of-the-art wide-bodied airliner, including a simulation of an EGNOS-enabled LPV landing in the cockpit. Airbus test pilot Jean-Christophe Lair described the A350’s new Satellite-based Landing System (SLS) that works with SBAS such as EGNOS. This is the first time such a system has been installed on a wide-body airliner and will be supplied as a standard feature to all customers.
EGNOS is fully integrated into a common harmonised landing system interface on the A350 — the SLS — that allows the pilot to fly precision approaches like an ILS with geometrical vertical guidance down to 200 feet. This new navigation system will allow Airbus users a wider range of solutions to optimise operations and increase accessibility without any compromise on safety.
“All the systems look the same to the pilot — it is a seamless integration of EGNOS — so no human-factor issues,” said Jean-Christophe. Pilot feedback had been excellent with some 3,000 hours flown on LPV approaches using both EGNOS in Europe and WAAS in North America. “We have experienced no technical or operational issues with SBAS operations,” he claimed. “The SLS shows value every day that it is used.”
SLS/LPV is operationally equivalent to CAT 1 ILS, but brings significant additional assets above the LPV minimum such as the secure coding of the final approach segment and the fact that the SBAS/ LPV vertical profile is geometric and fixed in space. The system can also be useful for creating en-route diversions and allows creation of instrumented approaches. Overall the SLS development on the A350 XWB had been a very positive experience he stated.
Earlier Philippe Rollet, senior expert Air Traffic Management at Airbus, had said that “EGNOS was more important for helicopters than aircraft.” The enhanced EGNOS guidance enabling access to helipads in urban environments. “With EGNOS you can have a helipads everywhere and the system increases operational safety in bad weather,” he claimed. “For Airbus all new helicopter models will be EGNOS capable – it is the baseline for Airbus.”
This enhanced access facility was demonstrated via the GSA-funded GARDEN project that is using EGNOS to enable increased safety and better access for helicopters, for example, enabling air ambulances to more easily access city centre hospitals. EGNOS implementation was demonstrated in the cockpit of an Airbus H175 multi-mission helicopter used as a test-bed for GARDEN.
Technology at Work In Flight. EGNOS was also in action during a series of flights for the media using EGNOS for landing procedures on an ATR turboprop development craft. The plane was equipped with additional avionic displays in the main cabin, and this allowed the press to watch the technology at work without crowding out the pilots on the flight deck! The flight demonstration took off from Blagnac for a 15-minute circuit around the beautiful “pink” city of Toulouse before demonstrating an immaculate EGNOS LPV approach and landing.
Earlier the “press pack” had also been taken on a tour of the massive assembly plant for the Airbus A380 double-decker airliner next to the airport. Well worth a visit if you are ever in the area! In fact, Toulouse is blessed with aerospace tourism attractions such as the City of Space.
Expanding EGNOS?
The media was welcomed to the event by GSA executive director Carlo des Dorides. He emphasised that EGNOS for aviation delivers high precision at low cost. “EGNOS is Europe’s first satellite navigation system — and already has a good success story to tell,” he said. “It helps aviation to be safer, greener and more efficient.” He highlighted EGNOS’s ability to deliver continuous integrity protection in compliance with ICAO standards allowing CAT 1 approaches with more than 99 percent availability.
“Today 142 airports across Europe are benefitting from EGNOS, and the number is growing steadily,” he said. EGNOS’s success in aviation was also helping to spread the word for applications in other transport sectors such as maritime.
With a near-term target of 500 runways to be EGNOS enabled in Europe, the support available for airports and operators wanting to benefit from EGNOS was emphasised by Gian Gherardo Calini, the head of market development at GSA. During 2015 the agency has allotted €6 million to co-fund projects to implement EGNOS in aviation. A similar amount had also been allocated in 2014. GSA provided technical and educational support for implementation as well as financial assistance.
He saw the benefits being increased safety, operational enhancements, plus reduced cost and environmental impact. Widespread implementation would enable new point-to-point commercial airline opportunities.
Key to Significant Growth. EGNOS could be the key to a significant growth in general aviation in Europe. “The need to install ILS made the business case for most general aviation airfield out of the question,” claimed Martin Robinson, senior vice president of the International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Association (IAOPA). There are 4,649 aerodromes in Europe and some 50,000 general aviation aircraft operating from them. In comparison to the situation in the U.S., only a small percentage the aerodromes had been. Of course, the widespread uptake of WAAS in the U.S. is a clear result of a deliberate federal strategy.
“There is definitely room for growth,” said Robinson. “EGNOS will help to provide greater access to aerodromes throughout Europe and to improve safety, but we need to be much quicker if we are to realise these benefits sooner.” He felt every general aviation airfield needed a clear business plan working towards EGNOS ability.
There was some dispute about the exact cost of implementing an EGNOS approach as it varies from location to location, but in broad terms the one-off cost of implementation seems to be equivalent to the annual maintenance cost of on-the-ground ILS equipment. With these economics, wider uptake by regional airports in Europe should be a no-brainer; however, the go or no decision often came down to individuals, said Robinson. He believes European countries need to be more willing to support the European Commission in introducing the technology. Perhaps a more region-led approach is required?
The French government line on EGNOS was given by David Comby of the French Ministry for Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy, who said France sees EGNOS as essential part of the modernisation process for European airspace making flying safer, more efficient, greener and more cost effective. France was working hard on EGNOS implementation, and it was possible that all French runway ends (~200) would be equipped for EGNOS by 2018.
EGNOS over Africa?
The potential for expansion of EGNOS / SBAS across the globe is huge. Despite having to battle against a barrage of taxiing aircraft noise, Jean-Marc Piéplu Head of EGNOS Exploitation at GSA described the upgrade path for EGNOS from the current Version 2 to EGNOS V3. “Version three will feature new capabilities,” he said. “Dual-frequency and dual-constellation with both GPS and Galileo signals available.”
In theory EGNOS V3 could provide EGNOS / SBAS coverage for aviation to more than 90 percent of the global land surface. Piéplu indicated that if the political will was there to implement, then this extension of coverage could be accomplished in 10 years. There were no outstanding technical issues. He also said that there were no current plans to use GLONASS signals with EGNOS.
A key market could be Africa. Establishment of transport infrastructure is seen as a key enabler for sustainable development in the less-developed world, and SBAS-based infrastructure could provide a cost-effective solution to boost connectivity safely without having to invest in vulnerable ground-based equipment.
Julien Lapie from the Agency for Air Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA) highlighted that over 40% of citizens in Africa were more than 250 miles from an ILS-equipped airport. Negotiations on use of EGNOS over Africa are ongoing, but could be completed as soon as 2016.
As the not-so-subtle EGNOS advertising tag goes: It’s there. Use it.
Screenshot from GSA video. See full GSA Flight Event 2015 video below.
News from the European GNSS Agency
Since its certification for civil aviation in 2011, EGNOS — the European satellite-based augmentation system — has been making flights in Europe safer, greener and more efficient. To celebrate this achievement and further promote EGNOS, the European GNSS Agency (GSA) in collaboration with the European Commission, invited the media and European aviation stakeholders for a unique EGNOS Flight Event in Toulouse, France, May 6-7.
Today, more than 140 airports in 15 countries across Europe benefit from EGNOS — with many more preparing for implementation. 171 LPV (localizer performance with vertical guidance) and 86 BARO approaches are already certified for use.
To highlight this impact, the EGNOS Flight Event, organized in collaboration with the European Commission, ESSP, ATR and Airbus, brought together aviation media and other sector stakeholders for a comprehensive briefing and demonstration of EGNOS, how it works and its significant benefits for the aviation sector. Along with flight demonstrations, the event assembled a unique array of EGNOS-experienced players — from pilots to operators, service providers and air traffic managers – to discuss how EGNOS is reshaping the future of air transportation in Europe.
Across-the-Board Benefits
Commercial, business and general aviation are all key market segments for EGNOS. For example, business and general aviation operators need to get to meetings as quickly and efficiently as possible, often requiring landing at smaller airports where Instrument Landing System (ILS) or other expensive ground-based navigation aids are simply not feasible. Thus, the implementation of EGNOS-based procedures at these airports significantly improves accessibility. “EGNOS, Europe’s first satellite navigation system, already has a good success story to tell,” says GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides. “EGNOS delivers continuous integrity protection in compliance with ICAO standards, allowing Cat I approaches with over 99 % availability. Today, 142 airports across Europe are benefitting from EGNOS — and the number is growing steadily.”
According to GSA Head of Market Development Gian Gherardo Calini, the Agency has the capacity to support airports and operators wanting to benefit from EGNOS. For example, this year the Agency has allotted €6 million to co-fund projects to implement EGNOS in aviation. A similar amount had also been allocated in 2014.
Airborne with EGNOS
Demonstrations of EGNOS included a briefing on EGNOS for rotorcraft and with the presentation of the GARDEN project. The project is using EGNOS to enable increased safety and better access for helicopters, for example, enabling air ambulances to access city centre hospitals. Participants were also given a first-hand look at EGNOS implementation in the cockpit of an Airbus H175 rotorcraft.
EGNOS in action was demonstrated by a series of flights using EGNOS for landing procedures with an ATR 42-600 turboprop, which was equipped with additional avionics in the main cabin so invited media could witness the technology at work. The flight demonstration took off from the Blagnac Airport in Toulouse, the venue for the EGNOS event, for a 15 minute circuit around Toulouse beforedemonstrating an EGNOS LPV approach and landing.
EGNOS for A350
A highlight on the tarmac was the Airbus A350WXB. Participants were given a tour of this new, state-of-the-art wide-bodied airliner — including a simulation of an EGNOS-enabled LPV landing in the cockpit. Airbus test pilot Jean-Christophe Lair described the A350’s new Satellite-based Landing System (SLS) that works with Satellite Based Augmentation Systems (SBAS) such as EGNOS. This is the first time such a system has been installed on a wide body airliner and will be supplied as a standard feature to customers.
According to Lair, EGNOS is fully integrated into a common, harmonised landing system interface on the A350 – the SLS. This allows the pilot to fly precision approaches like an ILS with geometrical vertical guidance down to 200 feet. This new navigation system will provide Airbus operators a wider range of solutions to optimise operations and increase accessibility without any compromise to safety.
EGNOS Expansion
The potential for expansion of EGNOS/SBAS is huge both in terms of global coverage and potential for use in Europe.
GSA Head of EGNOS Exploitation, Jean-Marc Piéplu, outlined the future upgrade of the system from the current Version 2 to EGNOS Version 3. “Version three will feature new capabilities, including dual frequency and dual-constellation with both GPS and Galileo,” he said.
This extension could potentially widen EGNOS/SBAS global coverage for aviation to over 90%. When asked about the timescale for this extension of coverage, Piéplu indicated that if the political will was there to implement, then this could be accomplished in 10 years as there were no outstanding technical issues.
According to International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Association (IAOPA) Senior Vice President Martin Robinson, there is a huge potential for growth in Europe. Currently there are 4,649 aerodromes in Europe and some 50,000 general aviation aircraft operating. Compared to the US, only a fraction of these are SBAS enabled. In the US, the larger uptake of WAAS is due to a deliberate government-led industrial policy.
“Europe still lags behind the United States and there’s definitely room for growth,” said Robinson. “EGNOS will help to provide greater access to aerodromes throughout Europe and improve safety — but we need to be quicker if we are to realize these benefits sooner.”
