06/02/2003 -- Europe Clears Way for Satellite

Discussion in 'Mobile Electronics News' started by The_Ancient, Aug 5, 2003.

  1. The_Ancient

    The_Ancient Full Member

    Europe Clears Way for Satellite Navigation System

    June 2, 2003 -- Paris - The European Space Agency (ESA) announced it had overcome a key hurdle for launching Galileo, a satellite navigation system that will joust with the United States' GPS for a future market worth billions of dollars. ESA member states finalised terms for the "Galileo Joint Undertaking," a legal vehicle that will be set up by the agency and its partner the European Union (EU) for managing the joint project, it said in a statement.
    Galileo, scheduled to be operational by 2008, is designed to girdle the globe with 30 satellites in medium Earth orbit, comprising 27 operational satellites and three reserves, plus two control centres on the ground.

    It should provide users, ranging from aircraft and shipping to cars and trekkers, with a navigational fix accurate to within just one metre (3.25 feet).

    At present, the only global satellite navigation system available to civilians is the US Global Positioning System (GPS), but it depends on military satellites that ultimately are under the control of the Pentagon.

    "This is a great day for Europe in general and its space community in particular," ESA Director General Antonio Rodota said.

    "Conscious of the economic, industrial and strategic importance of satellite navigation, our member states have reached agreement on the common interest. We are now able to continue with Galileo, a major programme from which all citizens will benefit.

    "Galileo is definitely a reality."

    Galileo "will offer the citizens of Europe and the world an accurate and secure satellite positioning capability," ESA said, adding delicately that the new system "will complement" GPS.

    The total development and launch costs are put at around 3.2 billion euros (3.77 billion dollars), with running costs from 2008 onwards of around 220 million euros, the agency said.

    Projections suggest it will have "very significant economic benefits, with a 460 percent return on investment and creation of over 140,000 jobs," it said.

    The United States in 2001 voiced concerns about Galileo, suggesting that it could be a security threat because of its open access.

    Those concerns have been a significant factor in delaying the project, along with friction among the project's major partners -- Britain, France, Germany and Italy -- on how to share out the contract work.

    ESA is institutionally separate from the EU and its panoply of organisations, although most of its members are EU states and their scientists often have close collaborative ties.

    The 15 ESA members are Austria, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

    Canada has special status and participates in some projects under a cooperation agreement.

    The Galileo Joint Undertaking will be responsible for developing and validating the Galileo prototypes and preparing the system's deployment and operations.

    The organisation will be based in Brussels, and the EU's representative to it will be the European Commission.

    ESA said that a market study suggests there will be a 1.8 billion people who will seek navigation-by-satellite services by 2010, which would rise to 3.6 billion in 2020.

    GPS, like Russia's Glonass system, is a military-run network. It can be downgraded or even switched off if an enemy attempts to use the system to launch, for instance, guided missiles or drones for use in a terrorist act.

    The agreement was reached among ESA delegates, meeting ahead of a ministerial gathering on Tuesday.

    -AFP