Galileo update

Encouraging Galileo GNSS and EGNOS Use in the Mediterranean Basin

A European-Union funded consortium invites companies and public agencies from North Africa and the Middle East to submit ideas for extending Galileo GNSS and EGNOS use in the region. Eligible ideas could be for a small pilot project or research study, a technical training plan, and/or a publication or article. The submission deadline is August 25, 2013.

The countries in the target area are Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, and Tunisia. www.euromedtrasport.eu

European Space Agency – Ground Station Endures Freak Weather

Engineers manning Galileo’s South Pacific ground station on New Caledonia found themselves marooned by heavy rains and a flash flood—though the station carried on operating regardless. Torrential rains lashed this French-administered group of islands at the start of July. The Galileo ground station near the capital Nouméa was caught in the deluge. Part of a growing worldwide network, it incorporates a Galileo Sensor Station that monitors the quality of navigation signals and an Uplink Station to relay navigation corrections to the satellites for rebroadcast to users. www.satnews.com

Britain Now Sees Potential of PRS Signal aboard Galileo

The British government’s skepticism about the value of the encrypted, jamresistant signal on Galileo satellite constellation has given way to an embrace of the signal as a future revenue source for British industry, government and industry officials said.

The Public Regulated Service (PRS) signal onboard Galileo will be available to European Union (EU) governments that provide security guarantees to specially designated Galileo program managers. Several European governments have said they plan to equip their emergency response teams and civil security forces. Several, notably France, have said they intend to supply their militaries with PRS-equipped hardware even as they maintain their use of the future military, or M-code, signal on the U.S. GPS satellites.

The British government in the past has openly questioned PRS’s value, and even suggested that it has no place as a military component in a project that is financed and managed by civilian authorities. Some of this opposition was concerned that anyone expressing interest in PRS would be forced to pay for it. This led several European defense ministries to softpedal their support for it. That has now changed. www.spacenews.com

Galileo GNSS service centre opened in Spain

The European GNSS Service Centre (GSC) was opened this month in Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain, and will give information on the status of the Galileo constellation to application service providers and other users. This will help companies and organisations that are reliant on the constellation to ensure they can maintain the provision of any relevant products or services. www.surveyequipment.com