Galileo update

EGNOS capability enhanced with addition of new generation transponders

As part of the actions undertaken by the European Commission to upgrade and maintain the EGNOS system, on 22 March two geostationary transponders – GEO-2 – were successfully launched on board the SES ASTRA 5B satellite from the European Space Port in Kourou, French Guiana. The new generation transponders will provide higher accuracy positioning signals to both citizens and professionals using EGNOS enabled receivers and ensure the continuity and quality of the EGNOS open service and safety-of-life services for the next 15 years. Together with the previous transponder replenishment on the SES- 5 satellite launched in July 2012, GEO- 2 will soon be introduced in current EGNOS operations and will support the new EGNOS generation (EGNOS V3). EGNOS V3 will provide dual-frequency signals on L1 and L5 bands and augment both GPS and Galileo. www.gsa.europa.eu

ESA to Award Certificates For First Galileo Position Fixes

To mark the first anniversary of Galileo’s historic first satnav positioning measurement, ESA plans to award certificates to groups who picked up signals from the four satellites in orbit to perform their own fixes.

In 2011 and 2012 the first four satellites were launched – the minimum number needed for navigation fixes.

On 12 March 2013, Galileo’s space and ground elements came together for the first time to perform the historic first determination of a ground location – the Navigation Laboratory of ESA’s Technical Centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.

From this point, generation of navigation messages enabled full testing of the entire Galileo system – not just by ESA and its industry and institutional partners but also by any entity with a customized satnav receiver.

ESA’s Galileo team heard about position fixes carried out by organizations and companies all over Europe and beyond, including as far away as Vietnam.

A year on, ESA will recognize these Galileo pioneers with commemorative certificates to the first 50 entities who document their achievement of a past or present fix. ESA

Global Navigation Satellite Receiver From Galileo Satellite Navigation Now Available on Cadence Tensilica ConnX DSP IP Cores

Cadence Design Systems, Inc has announced that Galileo’s softwarebased GNSS receiver is now available on Tensilica® ConnX DSP IP cores. The GSN GNSS receiver running on a Cadence ConnX BBE16 DSP consumes very little power – as low as 10mW of power on a 40nm process – and has the ability to work in lower rates, or “snap-shots” for ultra-lowpower mobile scenarios. The solution delivers high sensitivity tracking, offering a seamless GNSS experience in challenging environments. http://www.galileo-nav.com