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The future of the European “GPS “

Jean- Marc Pieplu, Galileo Project Manager, Enterprise and Industry DG

1. Can you present briefly the navigation system Galileo satellite?

The Galileo is the European initiative that will give birth to a global navigation satellite system providing independent service under civilian control (which is not the case with GPS, and U.S. military). This system will consist of 30 satellites orbiting at 20,000 km altitude (covering the entire globe) and the related ground infrastructure. The system resulting from the Galileo signals will provide a very precise positioning and specific functions, opening the door to new applications. These signals will be supplied via five services tailored to the needs of different types of users: an open access service, interoperable with GPS, a commercial service for specific applications, a public regulated service for uses such as governmental police or fire protection, a Safety of Life service for applications in areas such as aviation and a search and rescue support service to relief centers. The first services should emerge in 2014 based on an initial constellation of 18 satellites.

2. What are the benefits of this system expected for the European Union?



The system resulting from the Galileo program will provide strategic and political independence of Europe in a field become indispensable for a variety of applications used in everyday life. Europe is also not the only one to have such a system separate from the American GPS since similar projects are also in operation (the Russian system GLONASS) or developing systems (the Chinese, Indian, or Japanese systems).


The program also continue to develop the know-how of European industries in both development and construction of such a system, but also in the development of receivers, application and integrated satellite navigation services. We talk about the generation of tens of billions of additional revenue for the European economy and the maintenance and creation of tens of thousands of jobs.


Finally, the system opens the door to new applications requiring a high degree of accuracy and availability of signals, bringing concrete benefits to European citizens. We believe such applications to guide for example visually impaired in their movements, for helicopters to land near the hospital even in situation of bad weather etc.


3. Why this project has been delayed? Where is the progress of the project?



The Galileo program was originally designed to be implemented jointly by European governments and the private sector. This public-private partnership has not been finally established, the income generated is likely being limited since it is ultimately a public service and that most signals will be free. The Council of the European Union decided in 2007 to entrust the entire responsibility of the implementation of the program to the European Commission, exclusively with a public funding. Since then, the program is progressing according to a mastered schedule but still tense. One must remain aware of the risks of delays that are related to technical and programmatic complexity of such an undertaking. To date, two experimental satellites transmitting test signals for 5 years have served to validate the signal characteristics. The first four satellites that will form a mini-constellation to validate the system are currently in integration and will be launched in 2011. Three of the six main contracts for the construction and deployment of the system have been allocated to industry in early 2010 and the corresponding developments have begun. The three other contracts will be awarded before the end of 2010. By late 2012, following satellites will be launched at a steady pace until we reach the initial constellation of 18 satellites in 2014. The first services are scheduled after that time. New industrial contracts will be put in place by then to complete the constellation to 30 satellites.


4. What are the main sources of funding for Galileo?


The gestation period of the program (leading to the launch of two experimental satellites and the first four satellites) has been jointly funded by the European Union and the European Space Agency. The production phase of deployment is fully funded by European public cents, as decided by the Council of the European Union in 2007. It is also true for other nations which are also developing a global navigation satellite and it was the same for the American GPS.


5. What are the benefits Galileo over its competitor, the American GPS?



We expect first a fundamental advantage for Europe in terms of strategic and political independence.
From a user perspective, the Galileo satellites will be of a different generation than the current GPS and are designed and configured to provide more accurate signals. However one can not of course without prejudice to future upgrades of the American GPS system. That said, the more the number of satellites received at a given point by the user is important, the better is the positioning accuracy indicated by its receptor. As Galileo will be compatible with GPS, the user will receive automatically the highest number of satellites in visibility.


The Galileo satellite signals will also provide additional functions, such as the Commercial or the Safety of Life Service that will develop new applications from the current GPS. It should finally be noted that future beacons (successor to the famous Argos beacons) will improve the performance of search and rescue thanks to Galileo satellites.
And do not forget the benefits in terms of jobs for the European economy.