GALILEO UPDATE

FCC seeks public comments on receivers using Galileo signals in US

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is inviting public comments on the European Commission’s request for a waiver of licensing requirements applicable to Galileo receivers in the U.S.

If the waiver is approved, Galileo-capable receivers won’t need to be licensed in the U.S. Right now, FCC rules require that receivers operating with non-U.S. licensed space stations obtain a license.

In a letter dated Jan. 30, 2015, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration submitted a request by the European Commission for a waiver of the FCC licensing requirements to permit non-federal receive-only Earth stations — receivers — within the U.S. to operate with Galileo signals.

ESA wants to know why Galileo satellites’ clocks stopped working

Something strange is going on with the Galileo satellites, and the European Space Agency wants to find out what’s causing it. Apparently, ten atomic clocks on board five of the 18 navigation probes already in orbit have malfunctioned, and it could force the agency to delay the scheduled launch of four more satellites in August. Sat Nav systems like Galileo need highly precise atomic clocks to work properly, since they have to broadcast their signals at the same time. Broken clocks will hinder its ability to “deliver real-time positioning accuracy down to the meter range”. Three of the devices hit by the mysterious affliction are rubidium atomic frequency clocks, while the rest are moreprecise passive hydrogen maser variants. One of the hydrogen devices has been restarted, bringing the total number down to nine. Since each satellite carries four clocks and none of them have more than two broken devices, Galileo still works. According to Space, the agency thinks the clocks shortcircuited and failed because they’re switched off for long periods. However, it still needs to investigate the event further to make sure the rest of the clocks won’t get affected. https://www.engadget.com

Second Galileo Hackathon expects to produce new innovative applications

After a successful first GSA Galileo Hackathon, the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is busy making plans for its next adventure in app building, scheduled to coincide with infoShare 2017, May 17-19 in Gdańsk, Poland.

Last year teams of passionate coders and geo-enthusiasts from around the world gathered to compete during the first event, which served as an opportunity to showcase coding skills, connect with the Geo-IoT (Internet of Things) app development community, and gain a competitive insight on what Galileo location-based services (LBS) can bring to your mobile device.

The idea and the challenge behind the first GSA Galileo Hackathon was to come up with an innovative application that makes full use of Galileo’s unique capabilities in 24 hours or less.