Galileo IOV launch services contract signed
ESA and Arianespace signed a contract for the launch of the fi rst four operational Galileo satellites on two Soyuz launch vehicles from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. ESA’s Director of the Galileo Programme and Navigation-related Activities, Mr René Oosterlinck, and the Chairman and CEO of Arianespace, Mr Jean-Yves Le Gall, signed the launch services contract in the presence of Mr Paul Verhoef, Programme Manager of EU Satellite Navigation Programmes at the European Commission. The Galileo In- Orbit Validation (IOV) Launch Services Contract covers the launch of the fi rst four operational Galileo satellites using two Soyuz launch vehicles that will lift off from the Guiana Space Centre (Centre Spatial Guyanais – CSG),

Norway joins Galileo project
The Norwegian government will give a boost by providing 68.9 million euros (92.5 million dollars) towards the 3.4 billion euro project. While Norway is not a member of the 27-member bloc, the
country’s economy and business minister Sylvia Brustad said it was important that Oslo took part in Galileo’s development. “The project will be of huge importance for the development of the European space industry and it is therefore important that Norwegian businesses are now able to compete,” Brustad said in a statement. In September, the European Commission and the European Space Agency, which includes Norway as a member, shortlisted 11 European firms which are bidding for future contracts connected to Galileo. www.newsabout- space.org/story/157986254.html

Norway joins Galileo project
The Norwegian government will give a boost by providing 68.9 million euros (92.5 million dollars) towards the 3.4 billion euro project. While Norway is not a member of the 27-member bloc, the

country’s economy and business minister Sylvia Brustad said it was important that Oslo took part in Galileo’s development. “The project will be of huge importance for the development of the European space industry and it is therefore important that Norwegian businesses are now able to compete,” Brustad said in a statement. In

September, the European Commission and the European Space Agency, which includes Norway as a member, shortlisted 11 European firms which are bidding for future contracts connected to Galileo. www.newsabout- space.org/story/157986254.html

Galileo and China’s Compass argue over frequencies
The Christian Science Monitor reports that China’s insistence on using the same radio frequency as Galileo may render some features of the European system unusable in the event of a crisis. China’s membership of “Galileo,” has soured to the point where the two sides are locked in a dispute over radio frequencies, as China races ahead with its own network of satellites. Without an agreement, China would be able to frustrate European military forces’ efforts to deny a future enemy crucial satnav capability. http://survapedia. com/2009/03/galileo-china-argue/

GRACE hosts UK ‘Growing Galileo’ event
The GNSS Research and Applications Centre of Excellence (GRACE) based at the University of Nottingham hosted the UK ‘Growing Galileo’ event. The event focused on access to new funding from the European GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) Supervisory Authority (GSA) for collaborative R&D projects under the European Framework 7 Programme (FP7). www.grace.ac.uk

IFEN to upgrade Galileo open air test bed signals
The German Aerospace Center has contracted with IFEN GmbH for the signal upgrade of the Galileo Test and Development Environment (GATE), per the latest versions of the European Space Agency’s Galileo Signal-in-Space Interface Control Document (ICD) and the GNSS Supervisory Authority Public Galileo Open Service ICD. After completion of the signal upgrade at the end of 2009, the GATE test infrastructure will be capable of transmitting the new CBOC signal structure on the Galileo E1 frequency band and a broader bandwidth of 92.07 MHz on the E5 frequency band, according to IFEN. www.ifen.com

Update from the International System Providers Meeting (ICG-3)
At the third meeting of the International Committee on GNSS (ICG-3), a voluntary United Nations–backed association that brings together GNSS and augmentation providers, Paul Verhoef, head of the Galileo unit for the European Commission Directorate-General for Transport and Energy, said that the EU expects to have contracts for building the Galileo FOC system in place by next summer. He noted that the target date for completion is 2013 had been given to prospective vendors in the Galileo invitations to tender (ITTs). The European GNSS Supervisory Agency (GSA), which had been charged with overseeing development and operation of Galileo under the abandoned publicprivate partnership, will be given a different name next year to refl ect its altered responsibilities under the public procurement now led by the EC and the European Space Agency. www.geolinks.org/icg3/

EU developing ‘militarised’ space policy which could trigger ‘arms race’
The European Space Agency is accused of developing technology to dominate the “high ground” of space, including a multimillion pound EU Satellite Centre in Spain. The Transnational Institute, a Dutch think-tank, said: “EU-financed communication and spy satellites are slowly becoming reality and in the long term the inclusion of space-based missile defence and other more offensive uses of space are real options for an increasingly ambitious EU military space policy.” The report said French ambitions for the “militarisation of space” have led to arguments with Britain – particularly over Galileo, the much-delayed European global positioning system. President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, who currently holds the Presidency, said in June that space agenda was one of his priorities. Galileo would be vital in any European deployment of the sort of GPS-guided artillery now being used by the US in Iraq and Afghanistan

EU not boldly funding space ambitions
The European Union wants to become a major player in space projects, EU ministers agreed, amid concerns that member states and industry are unwilling to provide the astronomical costs involved. They agreed on “the need to develop instruments and financial schemes for European space policy,” announced French Research Minister Valerie Pecresse, whose country holds the EU’s rotating presidency. However a statement issued after the ministerial meeting gave no details on the funding needs or means, highlighting the problem. http://www.spacedaily.com

ESA shortens list of bidders for Galileo
The ESA has listed 11 industrial groups invited to compete for contracts to get Europe’s satellite-navigation system, Galileo, into orbit. They are Italian, Dutch, French, British and German. Galileo now aims to launch its 30 satellites by the end of 2013, giving Galileo users more precision that the current American GPS coverage offers. Europe has already spent 1.6bn euros on Galileo. http://www.euronews.net