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

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

Two years in space for Galileo satellite

Since January 2006, Galileo signals have been broadcast by GIOVE-A, and received all around the globe. At ESA’s research and technology centre in the Netherlands, a laboratory is checking both the instruments on board the spacecraft that generate the signals and the receivers on the ground. This testing and calibration has allowed the specialists to confirm the success of the mission, which is a good sign for the rest of the programme.To reach operational status, Galileo needs a constellation of 30 satellites and an associated network of ground stations spread all around the globe. This phase has just been confirmed with the decisions taken by the European Union, which has agreed on a financing package of 3.4 billion Euros and proposed to entrust ESA with the full deployment of Galileo by 2013.

Labels: Communication, EU, Galileo, 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

EU Heads of state and government to decide the future of Galileo

The business is as slow and laborious as it gets: Politicians and members of the industry have meanwhile clocked up five years of delay when it comes to the creation of the planned European satellite-based navigation system Galileo. While the original plans had called for a commercially viable rival to the United States monopoly to be up and running by 2008, the present plans indicate that a complete system will not be able to commence operations until 2013 at the earliest. A delay that Russia will undoubtedly use to upgrade and expand its own GLONASS (Globalnaya Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema [Global Navigation Satellite System]) system – hitherto used for military purposes only – to meet the requirements of the booming navigation market. Moscow intends to increase the number of its Uragan satellites, which circle the earth in three orbital planes at a distance of 19,100 kilometers, to 24 – a number that would permit global use of Russian navigation services. For their part the US have meanwhile begun to beat the drum for their new GPS III system, which will feature two additional civilian signals and do without Selective Availability (SA), which artificially distorts the satellite signals. The new technology is meant to replace the minimum set of 24 active GPS satellites (the current total is 31) and the earth stations by 2014 at the latest.

In Europe those in charge have for years now been bickering over money, powers and responsibilities – with the result that only one Galileo test satellite, Giove-A, has so far been launched into space. Enough to prevent the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) from taking back the radio frequencies reserved for the Galileo system. The repeatedly delayed launch of a second Galileo test satellite is now scheduled to take place in March 2008 -- provided the project hasn't collapsed completely by then.

Note EU-Digest: The EU should not fall asleep on the Galileo project. Insiders are aware that the US has used considerable political pressure on the EU not to develop its own spacial navigational system, but it is essential Europe gets the Galileo project underway if it doesn't want to become dependent for their navigational security on the Americans or the Russians.

Labels: EU, Galileo, Navigation Systems, Russia, US

Europe acknowledges that Galileo can have military applications

Amidst all of the controversy over funding for the beleaguered Galileo system, Europe's answer to the U.S.-based GPS, comes official acknowledgment that Galileo will have its military and defense uses, alongside civilian applications. Proponents of the Galileo system all along have maintained that since the U.S. global positioning system was created and is maintained by the U.S. military, that Europe should have its own, purely commercial civilian satellite navigation system. Given the importance of GPS to navigation and commerce, Galileo's proponents argue having an alternative is critical, should the U.S. military cut off civilian use of its satellites.

However the European Space Policy, signed off earlier this week by ministers from the European Space Agency's (ESA) member states and others tasked with internal market, industry and research within the European Union’s Competitiveness Council, notes that defense is an important parameter to Galileo and space technology in general.

Labels: EU, Galileo