Galileo Update

Second pair of Galileo IOV Navigation Satellites takes off successfully

A Soyuz ST-B launcher carrying two Galileo in-orbit validation (IOV) satellites took off as scheduled at 18:15 GMT (20:15 CEST; 2:15 p.m. EDT) on October 12 from the European Spaceport in French Guiana. All the stages of the Soyuz vehicle performed as planned and the Fregat-MT upper stage released the Galileo satellites into their targeted orbit close to 23,200 kilometer altitude, three hours 45 minutes after liftoff.

CYPRUS and EU sign agreement on hosting of a MEOLUT station

The Republic of Cyprus and the EU signed an agreement recently on setting up a Galileo ground station in Cyprus. The ground station will be one of a network of three so-called Medium Earth Orbit Local User Terminals (MEOLUT) that will relay distress signals received by the Galileo satellites to rescue teams throughout the European Union. The agreement was signed by Vice-President of the European C omission Antonio Tajaniand the Cypriot Minister of Communications and Works, Efthemios Flourentzou. http://www.financialmirror.com/

CEVA partners with Galileo Satellite Navigation

CEVA Inc, the leading licensor of silicon intellectual property (SIP) platform solutions and DSP cores, and Galileo Satellite Navigation, Ltd. (GSN), a developer of multi-system GNSS receiver technology have announced a partnership to offer software-based GNSS solutions for the CEVA-XC and CEVATeakLite- IIiDSP platforms. These solutions are available for demonstration, on real silicon with integrated RF, and consume as low as 10mW in a 40nm process node. www.galileo-nav.com

Europe’s satellite navigation market is surging

During Intergeo on 10 October Carlo des Dorides explained that slowly but surely, Europe’s global navigation satellite system (GNSS) was coming together, with businesses showing more and more interest in both the forthcoming Galileo satellite system and the operational EGNOS, Europe’s satellitebased augmentation system. “It is true that Galileo has had ups and downs in recent years, but everything is in place for real success from 2014, when the Galileo satellites will be at initial operating capability,” des Dorides said. “We are seeing more and more offerings in this sector.” The new GNSS services promise huge savings in time and money for both customers and businesses, des Dorides said. www.gsa.europa.eu