Galileo (satellite navigation)

Galileo

Country of origin	European Union
Operator(s)	GSA, ESA
Type	Civilian, commercial
Status	In development
Coverage	Global
Precision	1 metre (public) 1 cm (encrypted)
Constellation size
Total satellites	30
Satellites in orbit	10 operational + 2 in Early Orbit Phase (December 2015)
First launch	2011
Orbital characteristics
Regime(s)	3x MEO planes
Orbital height	23,222 km
Other details
Cost	€5 billion

Galileo is the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) that is currently being created by the European Union (EU) and European Space Agency (ESA), headquartered in Prague in the Czech Republic, with two ground operations centres, Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich in Germany and Fucino in Italy. The €5 billion project is named after the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei. One of the aims of Galileo is to provide an indigenous alternative high-precision positioning system upon which European nations can rely, independently from the Russian GLONASS and US GPS systems, in case they were disabled by their operators. The use of basic (low-precision) Galileo services will be free and open to everyone. The high-precision capabilities will be available for paying commercial users. Galileo is intended to provide horizontal and vertical position measurements within 1-metre precision, and better positioning services at high latitudes than other positioning systems.

Galileo is to provide a new global search and rescue (SAR) function as part of the MEOSAR system. Satellites will be equipped with a transponder which will relay distress signals from emergency beacons to the Rescue coordination centre, which will then initiate a rescue operation. At the same time, the system is projected to provide a signal, the Return Link Message (RLM), to the emergency beacon, informing them that their situation has been detected and help is on the way. This latter feature is new and is considered a major upgrade compared to the existing Cospas-Sarsat system, which do not provide feedback to the user. Tests in February 2014 found that for Galileo's search and rescue function, operating as part of the existing International Cospas-Sarsat Programme, 77% of simulated distress locations can be pinpointed within 2 km, and 95% within 5 km.

The first Galileo test satellite, the GIOVE-A, was launched 28 December 2005, while the first satellite to be part of the operational system was launched on 21 October 2011. As of December 2015 the system have 12 of 30 satellites in orbit. Galileo will start offering Early Operational Capability (EOC) from 2016, go to Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in 2017-18 and reach Full Operational Capability (FOC) in 2019. The complete 30-satellite Galileo system (24 operational and 6 active spares) is expected by 2020.

History

Headquarters of the Galileo system in Prague

Main objectives

In 1999, the different concepts (from Germany, France and the United Kingdom) for Galileo were compared and reduced to one by a joint team of engineers from all three countries. The first stage of the Galileo programme was agreed upon officially on 26 May 2003 by the European Union and the European Space Agency.

The system is intended primarily for civilian use, unlike the more military-oriented systems of the United States (GPS), Russia (GLONASS), and China (Beidou-1/2, COMPASS). The European system will only be subject to shutdown for military purposes in extreme circumstances (like armed conflict). It will be available at its full precision to both civil and military users.

Funding

The European Commission had some difficulty funding the project's next stage, after several allegedly "per annum" sales projection graphs for the project were exposed in November 2001 as "cumulative" projections which for each year projected included all previous years of sales. The attention that was brought to this multi-billion euro growing error in sales forecasts resulted in a general awareness in the Commission and elsewhere that it was unlikely that the program would yield the return on investment that had previously been suggested to investors and decision-makers.

On 17 January 2002, a spokesman for the project stated that, as a result of US pressure and economic difficulties, "Galileo is almost dead."

A few months later, however, the situation changed dramatically. European Union member states decided it was important to have a satellite-based positioning and timing infrastructure that the US could not easily turn off in times of political conflict.

The European Union and the European Space Agency agreed in March 2002 to fund the project, pending a review in 2003 (which was completed on 26 May 2003). The starting cost for the period ending in 2005 is estimated at €1.1 billion. The required satellites (the planned number is 30) were to be launched between 2011 and 2014, with the system up and running and under civilian control from 2019. The final cost is estimated at €3 billion, including the infrastructure on Earth, constructed in 2006 and 2007. The plan was for private companies and investors to invest at least two-thirds of the cost of implementation, with the EU and ESA dividing the remaining cost. The base Open Service is to be available without charge to anyone with a Galileo-compatible receiver, with an encrypted higher-bandwidth improved-precision Commercial Service available at a cost. By early 2011 costs for the project had run 50% over initial estimates.

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) contributes the largest portion of the Galileo funds, and is crucial in the development and application of the system with its facilities of the Earth Observation Center, and the Institute for Communication and Navigation in Neustrelitz.

Tension with the United States

A December 2001 letter from U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz to the Ministers of the EU states as part of the US-lobbying campaign against Galileo

Galileo is intended to be an EU civilian GNSS that allows all users access to it. GPS is a US military GNSS that provides location signals that have high precision to US military users, while also providing less precise location signals to others. The GPS had the capability to block the "civilian" signals while still being able to use the "military" signal (M-band). A primary motivation for the Galileo project was the EU concern that the US could deny others access to GPS during political disagreements.

Since Galileo was designed to provide the highest possible precision (greater than GPS) to anyone, the US was concerned that an enemy could use Galileo signals in military strikes against the US and its allies (some weapons like missiles use GNSS systems for guidance). The frequency initially chosen for Galileo would have made it impossible for the US to block the Galileo signals without also interfering with its own GPS signals. The US did not want to lose their GNSS capability with GPS while denying enemies the use of GNSS. Some US officials became especially concerned when Chinese interest in Galileo was reported.

An anonymous EU official claimed that the US officials implied that they might consider shooting down Galileo satellites in the event of a major conflict in which Galileo was used in attacks against American forces. The EU's stance is that Galileo is a neutral technology, available to all countries and everyone. At first, EU officials did not want to change their original plans for Galileo, but have since reached a compromise, that Galileo was to use a different frequency. This allowed the blocking or jamming of either GNSS system without affecting the other (jam Galileo without affecting GPS, or jam GPS but not Galileo), giving the US a greater advantage in conflicts in which it has the electronic warfare upper hand.

GPS and Galileo

Comparison of geostationary, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Compass (MEO), International Space Station, Hubble Space Telescope and Iridium constellation orbits, with the Van Allen radiation belts and the Earth to scale. The Moon's orbit is around 9 times larger than geostationary orbit. (In the SVG file, hover over an orbit or its label to highlight it; click to load its article.)

One of the reasons given for developing Galileo as an independent system was that position information from GPS can be made significantly inaccurate by the deliberate application of universal Selective Availability (SA) by the US military. GPS is widely used worldwide for civilian applications; Galileo's proponents argued that civil infrastructure, including aeroplane navigation and landing, should not rely solely upon a system with this vulnerability.

On 2 May 2000, SA was disabled by the President of the United States, Bill Clinton; in late 2001 the entity managing the GPS confirmed that they did not intend to enable selective availability ever again. Though Selective Availability capability still exists, on 19 September 2007 the US Department of Defense announced that newer GPS satellites would not be capable of implementing Selective Availability; the wave of Block IIF satellites launched in 2009, and all subsequent GPS satellites, are stated not to support SA. As old satellites are replaced in the GPS Block IIIA program, SA will cease to be an option. The modernisation programme also contains standardised features that allow GPS III and Galileo systems to inter-operate, allowing receivers to be developed to utilise GPS and Galileo together to create an even more precise GNSS system.

Cooperation with the United States

In June 2004, in a signed agreement with the United States, the European Union agreed to switch to a modulation known as BOC(1,1) (Binary Offset Carrier 1.1) allowing the coexistence of both GPS and Galileo, and the future combined use of both systems.

The European Union also agreed to address the "mutual concerns related to the protection of allied and US national security capabilities."

First experimental satellites: GIOVE-A and GIOVE-B

The first experimental satellite, GIOVE-A, was launched in December 2005 and was followed by a second test satellite, GIOVE-B, launched in April 2008. After successful completion of the In-Orbit Validation (IOV) phase, additional satellites were launched. On 30 November 2007 the 27 EU transportation ministers involved reached an agreement that Galileo should be operational by 2013, but later press releases suggest it was delayed to 2014.

Funding again, governance issues

In mid-2006 the public/private partnership fell apart, and the European Commission decided to nationalise the Galileo programme.

In early 2007 the EU had yet to decide how to pay for the system and the project was said to be "in deep crisis" due to lack of more public funds. German Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee was particularly doubtful about the consortium's ability to end the infighting at a time when only one testbed satellite had been successfully launched.

Although a decision was yet to be reached, on 13 July 2007 EU countries discussed cutting €548m ($755m, £370m) from the union's competitiveness budget for the following year and shifting some of these funds to other parts of the financing pot, a move that could meet part of the cost of the union's Galileo satellite navigation system. European Union research and development projects could be scrapped to overcome a funding shortfall.

In November 2007, it was agreed to reallocate funds from the EU's agriculture and administration budgets and to soften the tendering process in order to invite more EU companies.

In April 2008, the EU transport ministers approved the Galileo Implementation Regulation. This allowed the €3.4bn to be released from the EU's agriculture and administration budgets to allow the issuing of contracts to start construction of the ground station and the satellites.

In June 2009, the European Court of Auditors published a report, pointing out governance issues, substantial delays and budget overruns that led to project stalling in 2007, leading to further delays and failures.

In October 2009, the European Commission cut the number of satellites definitively planned from 28 to 22, with plans to order the remaining six at a later time. It also announced that the first OS, PRS and SoL signal would be available in 2013, and the CS and SOL some time later. The €3.4 billion budget for the 2006–2013 period was considered insufficient. In 2010 the think-tank Open Europe estimated the total cost of Galileo from start to 20 years after completion at €22.2 billion, borne entirely by taxpayers. Under the original estimates made in 2000, this cost would have been €7.7 billion, with €2.6 billion borne by taxpayers and the rest by private investors.

In November 2009, a ground station for Galileo was inaugurated near Kourou (French Guiana).

The launch of the first four in-orbit validation (IOV) satellites was planned for the second half of 2011, and the launch of full operational capability (FOC) satellites was planned to start in late 2012.

In March 2010 it was verified that the budget for Galileo would only be available to provide the 4 IOV and 14 FOC satellites by 2014, with no funds then committed to bring the constellation above this 60% capacity. Paul Verhoef, the satellite navigation program manager at the European Commission, indicated that this limited funding would have serious consequences commenting at one point "To give you an idea, that would mean that for three weeks in the year you will not have satellite navigation" in reference to the proposed 18-vehicle constellation.

In July 2010, the European Commission estimated further delays and additional costs of the project to grow up to €1.5-€1.7 billion, and moved the estimated date of completion to 2018. After completion the system will need to be subsidised by governments at €750 million per year. An additional €1.9 billion was planned to be spent bringing the system up to the full complement of 30 satellites (27 operational + 3 active spares).

In December 2010, EU ministers in Brussels voted Prague, in the Czech Republic, as the headquarters of the Galileo project.

In January 2011, infrastructure costs up to 2020 were estimated at €5.3 billion. In that same month, Wikileaks revealed that Berry Smutny, the CEO of the German satellite company OHB-System, said that Galileo "is a stupid idea that primarily serves French interests". The BBC understood in 2011 that €500 million (£440M) would become available to make the extra purchase, taking Galileo within a few years from 18 operational satellites to 24.

Galileo launch on a Soyuz rocket, 21 October 2011

The first two Galileo In-Orbit Validation satellites were launched by Soyuz ST-B flown from Guiana Space Centre on 21 October 2011, and the remaining two on 12 October 2012.

22 further satellites with Full Operational Capability (FOC) were on order as of 2012. The first two launched together on a Soyuz rocket from French Guiana on 22 August 2014.

International involvement

In September 2003, China joined the Galileo project. China was to invest €230 million (US$302 million, GBP 155 million, CNY 2.34 billion) in the project over the following years.

In July 2004, Israel signed an agreement with the EU to become a partner in the Galileo project.

On 3 June 2005 the EU and Ukraine signed an agreement for Ukraine to join the project, as noted in a press release.

As of November 2005, Morocco also joined the programme.

In Mid-2006, the Public-Private Partnership fell apart and the European Commission decided to nationalise Galileo as an EU programme.

In November 2006, China opted instead to independently develop the Beidou navigation system satellite navigation system. When Galileo was viewed as a private-sector development with public-sector financial participation, European Commission program managers sought Chinese participation in pursuit of Chinese cash in the short term and privileged access to China's market for positioning and timing applications in the longer term. However, due to security and technology-independence policy from European Commission, China was, in effect, dis-invited from Galileo and without a return of its monetary investment, a decision that was reinforced by China's move to build its own global system, called Beidou/Compass. At the Munich Satellite Navigation Summit on 10 March 2010, a Chinese government official asked the European Commission why it no longer wanted to work with China, and when China's cash investment in Galileo would be returned.

On 30 November 2007, the 27 member states of the European Union unanimously agreed to move forward with the project, with plans for bases in Germany and Italy. Spain did not approve during the initial vote, but approved it later that day. This greatly improves the viability of the Galileo project: "The EU's executive had previously said that if agreement was not reached by January 2008, the long-troubled project would essentially be dead."

On 3 April 2009, Norway too joined the programme pledging €68.9 million toward development costs and allowing its companies to bid for the construction contracts. Norway, while not a member of the EU, is a member of ESA.

On 18 December 2013, Switzerland signed a cooperation agreement to fully participate in the program, and retroactively contributed €80 million for the period 2008-2013. As a member of ESA, it already collaborated in the development of the Galileo satellites, contributing the state-of-the-art hydrogen-maser clocks. Switzerland's financial commitment for the period 2014-2020 will be calculated in accordance with the standard formula applied for the Swiss participation in the EU research Framework Programme.

System description

Space segment

Constellation visibility from a location on Earth's surface (animation)

As of 2012, the system is scheduled to reach full operation in 2020 with the following specifications:

• 30 in-orbit spacecraft (24 in full service and 6 spares)
• Orbital altitude: 23,222 km (MEO)
• 3 orbital planes, 56° inclination, ascending nodes separated by 120° longitude (8 operational satellites and 2 active spares per orbital plane)
• Satellite lifetime: >12 years
• Satellite mass: 675 kg
• Satellite body dimensions: 2.7 m × 1.2 m × 1.1 m
• Span of solar arrays: 18.7 m
• Power of solar arrays: 1.5 kW (end of life)

Ground segment

The system's orbit and signal accuracy is controlled by a ground segment consisting of:

• 1 ground control centre, located in Oberpfaffenhofen
• 1 ground mission centre, located in Fucino
• 5 tracking stations, located in Kiruna, Kourou, Noumea, Sainte-Marie, Réunion & Redu
• Several uplink stations
• Several sensor stations
• A data dissemination network between stations

Services

The Galileo system will have five main services:

Open access navigation

This will be available without charge for use by anyone with appropriate mass-market equipment; simple timing, and positioning down to 1 metre.

Commercial navigation (encrypted)

High precision to the centimetre; guaranteed service for which service providers will charge fees.

Safety of life navigation

Open service; for applications where guaranteed precision is essential. Integrity messages will warn of errors.

Public regulated navigation (encrypted)

Continuous availability even if other services are disabled in time of crisis; Government agencies will be main users.

Search and rescue

System will pick up distress beacon locations; feasible to send feedback, e.g. confirming help is on its way.

Other secondary services will also be available.

Concept

Each satellite will have two rubidium atomic clocks and two passive hydrogen maser atomic clocks, critical to any satellite-navigation system, and a number of other components. The clocks will provide an accurate timing signal to allow a receiver to calculate the time that it takes the signal to reach it. This information is used to calculate the position of the receiver by trilaterating the difference in received signals from multiple satellites.

For more information of the concept of global satellite navigation systems, see GNSS and GNSS positioning calculation.

Constellation

Main article: List of Galileo satellites

Summary of satellites

Block	Launch Period	Satellite launches			Currently in orbit and healthy
		Success	Failure	Planned
GIOVE	2005–2008	2	0	0	0
IOV	2011–2012	4	0	0	3
FOC	From 2014	8	0*	20	8
Total		14	0	20	11
* Two partial launch failures (Last update: January 5, 2016) For a more complete list, see list of Galileo satellites

Galileo satellite test beds: GIOVE

Main article: GIOVE

GIOVE-A was successfully launched 28 December 2005

In 2004 the Galileo System Test Bed Version 1 (GSTB-V1) project validated the on-ground algorithms for Orbit Determination and Time Synchronisation (OD&TS). This project, led by ESA and European Satellite Navigation Industries, has provided industry with fundamental knowledge to develop the mission segment of the Galileo positioning system.

• GIOVE-A is the first GIOVE (Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element) test satellite. It was built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL), and successfully launched on 28 December 2005 by the European Space Agency and the Galileo Joint. Operation of GIOVE-A ensured that Galileo meets the frequency-filing allocation and reservation requirements for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a process that was required to be complete by June 2006.
• GIOVE-B, built by Astrium and Thales Alenia Space, has a more advanced payload than GIOVE-A. It was successfully launched on 27 April 2008 at 22:16 UTC (4.16 am Baikonur time) aboard a Soyuz-FG/Fregat rocket provided by Starsem.

A third satellite, GIOVE-A2, was originally planned to be built by SSTL for launch in the second half of 2008. Construction of GIOVE-A2 was terminated due to the successful launch and in-orbit operation of GIOVE-B.

The GIOVE Mission segment operated by European Satellite Navigation Industries used the GIOVE-A/B satellites to provide experimental results based on real data to be used for risk mitigation for the IOV satellites that followed on from the testbeds. ESA organised the global network of ground stations to collect the measurements of GIOVE-A/B with the use of the GETR receivers for further systematic study. GETR receivers are supplied by Septentrio as well as the first Galileo navigation receivers to be used to test the functioning of the system at further stages of its deployment. Signal analysis of GIOVE-A/B data confirmed successful operation of all the Galileo signals with the tracking performance as expected.

In-Orbit Validation (IOV) satellites

These testbed satellites were followed by four IOV Galileo satellites that are much closer to the final Galileo satellite design. The Search & Rescue feature is also installed. The first two satellites were launched on 21 October 2011 from Guiana Space Centre using a Soyuz launcher, the other two on 12 October 2012. This enables key validation tests, since earth-based receivers such as those in cars and phones need to "see" a minimum of four satellites in order to calculate their position in three dimensions. Those 4 IOV Galileo satellites were constructed by Astrium GmbH and Thales Alenia Space. On 12 March 2013, a first fix was performed using those four IOV satellites. Once this In-Orbit Validation (IOV) phase has been completed, the remaining satellites will be installed to reach the Full Operational Capability.

Full Operational Capability (FOC) satellites

On 7 January 2010, it was announced that the contract to build the first 14 FOC satellites was awarded to OHB System and Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL). Fourteen satellites will be built at a cost of €566M (£510M; $811M). Arianespace will launch the satellites for a cost of €397M (£358M; $569M). The European Commission also announced that the €85 million contract for system support covering industrial services required by ESA for integration and validation of the Galileo system had been awarded to Thales Alenia Space. Thales Alenia Space subcontract performances to Astrium GmbH and security to Thales Communications.

In February 2012, an additional order of eight satellites was awarded to OHB Systems for €250M ($327M), after outbidding EADS Astrium tender offer. Thus bringing the total to 22 FOC satellites.

On 7 May 2014, the first two FOC satellites landed in Guyana for their joint launch planned in summer Originally planned for launch during 2013, problems tooling and establishing the production line for assembly led to a delay of a year in serial production of Galileo satellites. These two satellites (Galileo satellites number 5 and 6) were launched on 22 August 2014. The names of these satellites are Doresa and Milena named after European children. On 23 August 2014, launch service provider Arianespace announced that the flight VS09 experienced anomaly and satellites were injected into an incorrect orbit.

Satellites number 7 and 8 were launched successfully on 27 March 2015 from Guiana Space Centre using a Soyuz four stage launcher. Using the same Soyuz launcher and launchpad, satellites number 9 and 10 were launched successfully on 11 September 2015.

Satellites number 11 and 12 were successfully launched from Kourou, French Guiana, using the Soyuz launcher on December 17th, 2015.

Starting in 2016, deployment of the last twelve satellites will use a modified Ariane 5 launcher, named Ariane 5 ES, capable of placing four Galileo satellites into orbit per launch.

Applications and impact

Science projects using Galileo

In July 2006 an international consortium of universities and research institutions embarked on a study of potential scientific applications of the Galileo constellation. This project, named GEO6, is a broad study oriented to the general scientific community, aiming to define and implement new applications of Galileo.

Among the various GNSS users identified by the Galileo Joint Undertaking, the GEO6, project addresses the Scientific User Community (UC).

The GEO6 project aims at fostering possible novel applications within the scientific UC of GNSS signals, and particularly of Galileo.

The AGILE project is an EU-funded project devoted to the study of the technical and commercial aspects of location-based services (LBS). It includes technical analysis of the benefits brought by Galileo (and EGNOS) and studies the hybridisation of Galileo with other positioning technologies (network-based, WLAN, etc.). Within these project, some pilot prototypes were implemented and demonstrated.

On the basis of the potential number of users, potential revenues for Galileo Operating Company or Concessionaire (GOC), international relevance, and level of innovation, a set of Priority Applications (PA) will be selected by the consortium and developed within the time-frame of the same project.

These applications will help to increase and optimise the use of the EGNOS services and the opportunities offered by the Galileo Signal Test-Bed (GSTB-V2) and the Galileo (IOV) phase.

Coins

Austrian €25 European Satellite Navigation commemorative coin, back

The European Satellite Navigation project was selected as the main motif of a very high value collectors' coin: the Austrian European Satellite Navigation commemorative coin, minted on 1 March 2006. The coin has a silver ring and gold-brown niobium "pill". In the reverse, the niobium portion depicts navigation satellites orbiting the Earth. The ring shows different modes of transport, an aeroplane, a car, a container ship, a train and a lorry, for which satellite navigation was developed.

See also

• Binary Offset Carrier modulation – the modulation family used in Galileo
• Commercialization of space
• European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service

Bibliography

• The Galileo Project – Galileo Design consolidation, European Commission, 2003
• Guenter W. Hein, Jeremie Godet, et al.: Status of Galileo Frequency and Signal Design, Proc. ION GPS 2002.
• Dee Ann Divis: Military role for Galileo emerges. GPS World, May 2002, Vol. 13, No. 5, p. 10.
• Dr Richard North: Galileo – The Military and Political Dimensions. 2004.

Further reading

• Psiaki, M. L., "Block Acquisition of weak GPS signals in a software receiver", Proceedings of ION GPS 2001, the 14th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of the Institute of Navigation, Salt Lake City, Utah, 11–14 September 2001, pp. 2838–2850.
• Bandemer, B., Denks, H., Hornbostel, A., Konovaltsev, A., "Performance of acquisition methods for Galileo SW receivers", European Journal of Navigation, Vol.4, No. 3, pp 17–9, July 2006
• Van Der Jagt, Culver W. Galileo : The Declaration of European Independence : a dissertation (2002). CALL #JZ1254 .V36 2002, Description xxv, 850 p. : ill. ; 30 cm. + 1 CD-ROM

External links

• Official website
• Galileo ESA website
• European GNSS Supervisory Authority (GSA) – Europa
• Navipedia information on Galileo—Wiki initiated by the European Space Agency
• Galileo 11 Real Time Tracking
• Galileo 12 Real Time Tracking