Galileo update

Airborne to manufacture solar array panels for Galileo satellites

Airborne Aerospace has announced on March 22 it has been awarded a contract by Airbus Defence and Space Netherlands (Airbus DS NL, Ottobrunn, Germany) to manufacture 48 substrate panels, which consist of highperformance carbon composite materials, for the solar arrays of 12 new Galileo FOC satellites.

The contract, carried out under a programme of the European Union, is the latest result of years of successful collaboration between the two Dutch companies to power the Galileo constellation. To date, Airborne delivered 88 panels to Airbus DS NL, which has also been prime contractor for the solar arrays of the 22 Galileo satellites already built. www.compositesworld.com

GSA, Thales launch the EDG²E project

The European Union’s Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency (GSA) has officially launched the EDG²E project (Equipment for Dual frequency Galileo GPS and EGNOS) with a consortium led by Thales.

This four-year project intends to develop a dual-frequency multiconstellation receiver, enabling enhanced navigation capabilities, support standardisation and certification preparation.

The consortium includes Thales, Thales Alenia Space and ATR, as well as contributions from Dassault Aviation and the French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC).

The GNSS receiver is the cornerstone of aircraft navigation systems. The system processes signals from satellite constellations and the Space Based Augmentation System (SBAS) to accurately determine aircraft position, altitude and velocity.

The prototype receiver developed under the auspices of the EDG²E project will use signals from US GPS and European Galileo positioning systems, as well as from SBAS multi-constellation EGNOS. The project aims to achieve a prototype demonstration by 2021. The prototype receiver performance will be evaluated during a flight test campaign performed by ATR using one of the company’s test aircraft.

Initiated by the EC’s GSA, the EDG²E project will support the launch of the Galileo satellite constellation.

EGNOS has been certified for use in aviation since February 2011, and is an effective system to complement the US GPS, in order to provide better levels of performance, consequently enhancing aircraft approach capabilities. The next generation of EGNOS, called EGNOS V3, will further enhance performance by complementing both the EU Galileo and the US GPS satellite navigation constellations.