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The European satellite navigation system Galileo

Berlin, ILA 2006, 16 May 2006

Exact positioning at any time and in any place, secure and precise navigation – in future one name will be the byword for this: Galileo. The new European satellite navigation system is to be ready for operation in the year 2011. An initial test satellite for Galileo has already been in orbit since December 2005, and a second is due to be launched this year. In contrast to the currently available American GPS system, Galileo is a civil system, which is tailored to the needs of civil users. Galileo will thrust open the door to new applications and markets for satellite navigation. Here, great market potentials are be seen above all in the combination of navigation and mobile telecommunication and information services. Galileo is a joint initiative by the European Union (EU) and the European Space Agency (ESA). With its subsidiaries EADS Astrium and EADS SPACE Services, EADS SPACE is a central partner in the European satellite navigation project.
Global positioning capability through 30 satellites

The Galileo constellation will consist of 30 satellites orbiting the Earth at an altitude of roughly 23,600 km. A receiving unit will determine its position on the globe by measuring the distance to at least four navigation satellites. This distance will be determined using a highly accurate time signal. The satellites will transmit the time signal and the receiver will measure the time that elapses until the signal is received. The satellites will be monitored and controlled from two control centres: in Munich and in Rome. A global network of ground stations will ensure data transfer to and from the satellites. Sensor stations around the globe will continuously monitor and correct the quality of the signal. A correction signal is then transmitted to the satellites via so-called uplink stations.

Galileo will offer four different services:

* The Open Service (OS) is designed for mass applications such as navigation systems in automobiles. The OS signals can be received free of charge by anyone who has an appropriate terminal unit. The intention is that the open signals of Galileo and GPS will supplement each other to form the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). Future terminal units will be capable of processing signals received from both satellite systems, thus allowing an accurate determination of position, even under difficult conditions. This "interoperability" was the subject of an agreement concluded by the EU and the USA in the spring of 2004.
* The main applications of the Safety-of-Life (SoL) Service are in the areas of safety-critical transportation, for example controlling air and rail traffic. It will only be possible to use the certified SoL Service via special certified terminal units. The Galileo operator will guarantee the continuous availability and high precision of the SoL signal.
* The Commercial Service (CS) is aimed at users who require a higher degree of accuracy than that provided by the Open Service. Extremely accurate positioning is to be made possible by means of two supplementary coded correction signals that will be made available on a fee-paying basis.
* The Public Regulated Service (PRS) for national government applications will feature an extremely robust and interference-proof signal.

In addition to these four services, there will also be a Search and Rescue Service (SAR), which will pick up and relay the signals of users in distress.
Galileo – a worthwhile investment

The cost of setting up Galileo has been estimated at around € 3.5 billion. It will cost about € 220 million per year to operate the system, including replacement satellites. These costs are to be offset against the enormous economic benefit, especially the savings in the areas of road and air transport and shipping. In 2001, sales of satellite navigation products and services had already reached about € 15 billion – roughly one third of this sum in Europe. Estimates prophesy that the market will grow to about € 140 billion by the year 2015. In addition, Galileo is expected to give considerable impulses for growth in the employment market.
In recent years, satellite navigation has increasingly become part of our everyday life. Transportation, telecommunications and many other areas are already profiting from the opportunities offered by satellite navigation and these will multiply thanks to the Galileo navigation system, which is geared to civil applications:

* Individual navigation: Galileo opens up the door to location based services. Here, there are new opportunities, in particular through the combination of satellite navigation and mobile radiocommunication in portable units such as mobile phones or PDAs. Depending on where they are positioned, the users will then receive information via such services. Tourists, for example, could receive information about sights, restaurants or hotels. This technology could also be of assistance in emergencies because it would enable callers in distress to give their precise position.
* Transport and logistics: Galileo has been designed to satisfy the needs of all forms of transport – whether road, rail, ship or air – in an optimal manner. Applications include automobile navigation, electronic driving aids, traffic announcements, collision warnings and management of emergency situations on land or water and in the air. Galileo will enhance efficiency in transportation and contribute directly to reducing congestion, to cutting travelling times and, ultimately, to protecting the environment.
* Finance, banking and insurance: Galileo's global timing system based on highly accurate atomic clocks will facilitate the interconnection and synchronization of networks for telecommunications, electricity supply and banking systems. Thanks to the combination of information relating to time and position, it will also enable the security standards for encryptions and electronic signatures to be raised. In addition, insurance companies can track valuable goods.
* Agriculture and fishery: Supplementary to acting as a positioning and navigation aid, Galileo can help to monitor fish stocks and the authorities can check whether fishing vessels are operating within the designated areas. Furthermore, Galileo can assist in monitoring crop yields and in precision farming, enabling efficient resource management and sustainable cultivation of farmland.
* Public safety: In this area wide-ranging applications are conceivable, such as electronic tagging of offenders, anti-theft devices for automobiles or coastline monitoring to prevent illegal border crossers. Satellite navigation can also help to track cargos and hazardous goods to their destinations. In addition, Galileo will increase the efficiency of emergency operations and help to ensure the safety of major events such as the Olympic Games or political summits.

EADS Astrium – the motor of Galileo Industries

In the Galileo Industries joint venture, the European space industry has set up a company especially to meet the challenge set by Galileo. With its 38 percent stake, EADS Astrium is one of the largest shareholders. Further shareholders are Alcatel Alenia Space (France/Italy, 38 percent), Galileo Sistemas y Servicios (Spain, 12 percent) and Thales (France, 12 percent). The headquarters of Galileo Industries is located in Munich.

In January this year, ESA and Galileo Industries signed the contract for the "In Orbit Validation Phase" (IOV Phase). This contract has an overall volume of roughly one billion euros and covers the development and construction of the first four navigation satellites and part of the ground infrastructure for Galileo, plus the testing of this subsystem under real operational conditions before the full constellation with a total of 30 satellites is built up by the end of the current decade.

Roughly one fifth of the value added during the IOV Phase will be delivered by the space activities of EADS. During this phase, EADS Astrium in Ottobrunn near Munich will assume the system leadership for the space segment and bear overall responsibility for the construction of the first four navigation satellites. In Ottobrunn, important components will be manufactured for the satellites, for example the attitude control system. Together with their colleagues at Dutch Space, the engineers at Ottobrunn are also providing the solar generators for the four satellites. The propulsion units for the satellites come from EADS SPACE Transportation in Lampoldshausen.

Responsibility for the payload on board the four satellites and also the ground control segment, which provides satellite control, lies with EADS Astrium in the United Kingdom. EADS Astrium in Portsmouth is tasked with providing the worldwide network for controlling the satellites in orbit. The payload that will transmit the navigation signals to the users will also be built in Portsmouth.
EADS SPACE France and Spain will also receive subcontracts related to the IOV Phase. EADS SPACE France is participating in the ground mission segment, while Spanish EADS companies are delivering the navigation antennas and taking on systems engineering tasks in the space segment.

In addition, Galileo Industries has built the second Galileo test satellite Giove B, which is due to be launched from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan aboard a Soyuz rocket in the coming autumn. Giove B has the task of carrying out in-orbit testing of important new technologies for Galileo. On board Giove B, so-called Hydrogen Maser Clocks will be used for the first time. These atomic clocks will be the most precise clocks ever employed in space and are the key to the greater precision that the European navigation system will offer compared to the American GPS.
EADS SPACE Services – a strong partner in the construction and operation of Galileo

EADS SPACE Services, also a EADS Group company, is a further major participant in the Galileo project. This company, which specializes in space services, is a member of the international consortium that is currently negotiating to become the concessionaire for Galileo. The task of the concessionaire is, following the test phase, to organize the build-up of the entire navigation system (30 satellites) within the framework of a Public Private Partnership and to then operate Galileo for a period of 20 years.
In December 2005, the states and companies involved agreed on the allocation of the key tasks and sites for the Galileo operations, thus clearing the way for a concession contract to be concluded in the near future. The Headquarters of the Galileo Concessionaire will be located in Toulouse, France. The Operations Company will be located in London, United Kingdom. The two Control Centres will be located In Germany (Oberpfaffenhofen) and Italy, as will the two Performance Evaluation Centres. A back-up control centre will be located in Spain.

EADS ASTRIUM

EADS Astrium is Europe's leading satellite specialist. Its activities range from complete systems for civil and military telecommunications and Earth observation satellites to scientific space programmes and satellite navigation with the associated avionics and equipment. EADS Astrium is a subsidiary of EADS SPACE.
EADS SPACE Services

EADS SPACE Services develops and promotes innovative satellite-based services in the areas of telecommunications and navigation. EADS SPACE Services is a subsidiary of EADS SPACE.

EADS SPACE

EADS SPACE, a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS, is dedicated to providing civil and defence space systems. In 2005, EADS SPACE achieved revenues of € 2.7 billion and had roughly 11,000 employees in France, Germany, Great Britain and Spain.
The EADS Group is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2005, it generated revenues of € 34.2 billion and employed a workforce of more than 113,000.

Contacts for the media
Rémi Roland
EADS SPACE (FR)
Tel.: +33 (0)1 42 24 27 34

Frédéric-Pierre Isoz
EADS SPACE (FR)
Tel.: +33 (0) 1 42 24 28 77

Jeremy Close
EADS SPACE (UK)
Tel.: +44 (0)1438 77 38 72

Mathias Pikelj
EADS SPACE (GER)
Tel.: +49 (0)7545 8 91 23
www.space.eads.net

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Galileo is a registered trademark of the European Union