GNSS

New Galileo station goes on duty

Galileo’s ground segment has gained a new asset, the Telemetry, Tracking and Control (TT&C) facility — a 13.5-m parabola dish mounted on top of a 10-m high building structure of made of steel and concrete. It is based within Europe’s launch site in Kourou, French Guiana, beside TTCF-2.

The TT&C antennas are uncrewed and operate on a fully automated basis from the two Galileo control centers located in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, and Fucino, Italy. The TT&C antennas are crucial to regular communication with the Galileo satellites.

This latest antenna will play an important role during the upcoming modernization activities of the earlier TT&C antennas in the station network, which have been in service for several years. TTCF- 7 will take over their tasks during the maintenance activities when they need to be taken offline. www.esa.int

Thales partners with ESA on Galileo cybersecurity and enhancements

As part of G2G IOV SECMON, Thales is leading the consortium, including the Italian group Leonardo, to expand the scope of security monitoring and include the new assets in the G2G system. It will also introduce automated incident response and network traffic monitoring. In addition, the solution will be capable of storing significant amounts of incident response data. To meet this challenge, Thales will deliver a solution built on a scalable, flexible architecture derived from its Cybels range of security supervision products and incorporating big data capabilities.

A cybersecurity contract for better protection from quantum threats New threats from quantum computers capable of breaking existing cryptographic algorithms have the potential to compromise longterm data security. Thales has been tasked by ESA within the consortium it leads to draw on its world-renowned cryptography expertise. www.thalesgroup.com

GNSS signals monitor volcano activity in Japan

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) has reported that on July 10-17, data from GNSS signals indicated continuing minor inflation at shallow depths beneath Mount Ioyama, located on the northwest flank of the Karakuni-dake stratovolcano in the Kirishimayama volcano group in Japan.

Shallow volcanic earthquakes were recorded and vigorous fumarolic activity was visible at the fumarolic on the south side of Mount Ioyama. The alert level remained at two, on a five-level scale, and the public was warned to stay 1 km away from Mount Ioyama.

Indonesia, Japan explore cooperation to develop satellite navigation

Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) and Japan’s National Space Policy Secretariat of the Cabinet Office have signed a letter of intent (LOI) for cooperation to develop and utilize satellite navigation systems and technologies.

BRIN’s Deputy of Research and Utilization of Innovation, R. Hendrian, stated that satellites and their technologies are crucial for archipelagic states like Indonesia. In terms of cooperation with Japan, BRIN’s Head of Research Organization for Electronics and Informatics, Budi Prawara, mentioned that Japan’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) could be utilized. https://isp.page