EU-DIGEST

Galileo Key to European Defense, Says EU Parliament

While the European Parliament agrees that European space policy should not support the weaponization of space, it nevertheless recognizes the need for Galileo to serve the European Union's defense and security — a change from its earlier stance on the issue. Galileo proponents originally envisioned the European GNSS as existing completely in and for the civilian realm — one of the chief arguments for Galileo has been the fact that GPS is administered by the U.S. military. In fact the European Parliament in the past has rejected resolutions or legislation that hinted at a military role for Galileo. But with Europe having settled on public funding for the project, on Thursday it recognized the role of Galileo to European defense and military interests in space, effectively changing its collective mind.

Labels: EU, Galileo, GPS, Military

European GPS: Second test satellite for Galileo launched, reaches orbit

A second experimental Giove-B satellite for the EU's Galileo satellite navigation project was launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan early Sunday.The satellite, a 500-kilogram cube constructed by Astrium and Thales Alenia Space, is to take over from the first test satellite Giove-A, launched in December 2005. Giove-B contains an atomic clock, the most precise on Earth but never before sent into space, which falls behind by less than a nanosecond a day. The precision is particularly important for the localisation system, which is based on the calculation of time that passes between the emission and signal reception.

The long-delayed European project is meant to challenge the dominance of the US-built Global Positioning System (GPS), which is widely used in satellite navigation devices in vehicles and ships. The two experimental satellites are to be followed, some time later, by some 30 satellites placed in permanent orbit at an altitude of 20,000 kilometres (12,400 miles).

Europe's Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot, in an interview with French Sunday newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, called Galileo "a tool of sovereignty for Europe." He said: "We can no longer live in a world that is more and more dependent on global positioning while remaining reliant on one single American system. It is evident, Galileo is a tool of sovereignty for Europe."

Labels: EU, GPS, Space Exploration

Mission to prove Europe's sat-nav

Europe's quest to build its own version of GPS is about to take an important step forward with the launch of a test spacecraft, Giove-B. The demonstrator must prove the key technologies in the Galileo satellite navigation system before the full network begins its roll-out in 2010. Europe has already spent 1.6bn euros ($2.5bn; £1.3bn) on the project and ministers have warned that the additional 3.4bn euros ($5.3bn; £2.7bn) recently approved for sat-nav investments will be the limit on expenditure. Currently GPS operates with one open signal in a particular frequency band. With Galileo, we are going to broadcast up to 10 signals and the combination of these signals will allow us to provide a number of services which we cannot achieve today with the current system."If all of these technologies work as predicted, the project will be clear to launch the first four operational satellites in 2010. Full capability has been set for the end of 2013

Labels: EU, GPS

Europe's GPS - Galileo wins €2.4 billion bailout

The European Union on Wednesday ratified a €2.4 billion public bailout of the European satellite project meant to rival the GPS system in the United States. The European Parliament endorsed new rules underlying a plan to tap the EU budget for the extra $3.8 billion to build the Galileo road, rail, ship and air-traffic control network.

The approval removes the final hurdle after EU governments decided in November to use taxpayers' money to rescue the project, which is over budget and behind schedule. "We are giving the go-ahead to one of the most important projects in the EU," Angelika Niebler of Germany, head of the Parliament's Industry Committee, told the assembly here. "This is a technology that we need."

Labels: EU, European Space Research, Galileo, GPS

Galileo: towards an agreement for its launch

The European Parliament will have to approve, in the April 22 session, the regulation that will allow the implementation of the European satellite navigation program's following the negotiation's failure for the concession's contract, which would have to entrusted the Galileo's management to some privates. The program, that will benefit from 3.4 billion Euro for 2007-2013, aims at realizing the first global radio-navigation infrastructure for civilian purposes.

Labels: EU, Galileo, GPS, Space Exploration

EU reaches agreement on satnav project says commissioner

European Union countries, excluding Spain, reached agreement Thursday on the long-delayed Galileo satellite navigation project after lengthy talks on how the work would be divided up, the EU presidency announced. Spain decided not to associate itself with the final declaration, EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot told reporters, after the other 26 EU transport ministers had reached agreement to salvage the troubled project. The EU's satellite navigation system aims to break Europe's reliance on the US military-run Global Positioning System (GPS).

Note EU-Digest: This is a very good move and investment by the EU for the future. Europe should not rely on other countries for its communication and GPS systems.

Labels: EU, Galileo, GPS