GALILEO Navigation System
Galileo is a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) that went live in 2016,created
by the European Union through the European Space Agency (ESA), operated by the
European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), headquartered in
Prague, Czech Republic, with two ground operations centres in Fucino, Italy, and
Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. The €10 billion project is named after the Italian
astronomer Galileo Galilei. One of the aims of Galileo is to provide an independent
high-precision positioning system so European nations do not have to rely on the US
GPS, or the Russian GLONASS systems, which could be disabled or degraded by
their operators at any time. The use of basic (lower-precision) Galileo services is free
and open to everyone. The higher-precision capabilities will be available for free.
Galileo is intended to provide horizontal and vertical position measurements within 1-
metre precision, and better positioning services at higher latitudes than other
positioning systems. Galileo is also to provide a new global search and rescue (SAR)
function as part of the MEOSAR system.
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. By July 2018, 26 of the planned 30 active satellites (including spares) were in
orbit. Galileo started offering Early Operational Capability (EOC) on 15 December
2016,[1] providing initial services with a weak signal, and was expected to reach Full
Operational Capability (FOC) in 2020. The full Galileo constellation will consist of
24 active satellites, which is expected by 2021. It is expected that the next generation
of satellites will begin to become operational after 2025 to replace older equipment,
which can then be used for backup capabilities.
By early 2020, there were 26 launched satellites in the constellation: 22 in usable
condition (i.e. the satellite is operational and contributing to the service provision),
two satellites are in "testing" and two more not available to users. Out of 22 active
satellites, three were from the IOV (In-Orbit Validation) types and 19 of the FOC
types. Two test FOC satellites are orbiting the Earth in highly eccentric orbits whose
orientation changes with respect to other Galileo orbital planes.[18] The Galileo
system has a greater accuracy than GPS, having an accuracy of less than one metre
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when using broadcast ephemeris (GPS: three metres) and a signal-in-space ranging
error (SISRE) 1.6 cm (GPS: 2.3 cm, GLONASS and BeiDou: 4–6 cm) when using
real-time corrections for satellite orbits and clocks.
History
Headquarters of the Galileo system in Prague:
Main objectives
In 1999, the different concepts of the three main contributors of ESA (Germany,
France and Italy) 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). The European system will only be subject to shutdown for military
purposes in extreme circumstances (like armed conflict). The countries that contribute
most to the Galileo Project are Italy and Germany.
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 multibillion-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.[better source
needed] 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.
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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 originally planned to be available at a cost, but in February 2018
the high accuracy service (HAS) (providing Precise Point Positioning data on the E6
frequency) was agreed to be made freely available, with the authentication service
remaining commercial. By early 2011 costs for the project had run 50% over initial
estimates.
Tension with the United States
A December 2001 letter from US Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz to the
Ministers of the EU states, pointing out possible compatibility issues.
Galileo is intended to be an EU civilian GNSS that allows all users access to it.
Initially GPS reserved the highest quality signal for military use, and the signal
available for civilian use was intentionally degraded (Selective Availability). This
changed with President Bill Clinton signing a policy directive in 1996 to turn off
Selective Availability. Since May 2000 the same precision signal has been provided
to both civilians and the military.
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 GNSSs
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
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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 they have since reached the
compromise that Galileo is to use different frequencies. This allows the blocking or
jamming of either GNSS without affecting the other.
GPS and Galileo
Orbit size comparison of GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou-2, and Iridium
constellations, the International Space Station, the Hubble Space Telescope, and
geostationary orbit (and its graveyard orbit), with the Van Allen radiation belts and
the Earth to scale.
The Moon's orbit is around 9 times as large as 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 aircraft navigation and landing, should not rely solely upon a
system with this vulnerability.
On 2 May 2000, the selective availability was disabled by the President of the United
States, Bill Clinton; in late 2001 the entity managing the GPS confirmed that it 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 selective availability. As old satellites are
replaced in the GPS Block III programme, selective availability will cease to be an
option. The modernisation programme also contains standardised features that allow
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GPS III and Galileo systems to inter-operate, allowing receivers to be developed to
utilise GPS and Galileo together to create an even more accurate GNSS.
Cooperation with the United States
In June 2004, in a signed agreement with the United States, the European Union
agreed to switch to a Binary offset carrier modulation 1.1, or BOC(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 transport 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 €548 million (US$755 million, £370 million) 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.
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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 €3.4 billion 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
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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 learned in 2011 that €500 million (£440 million) 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 on 21 October 2011
The first two Galileo In-Orbit Validation satellites were launched by Soyuz ST-B
flown from Centre Spatial Guyanais on 21 October 2011,[54] and the remaining two
on 12 October 2012. As of 2017, the satellites are fully useful for precise positioning
and geodesy with a limited usability in navigation.
Twenty-two further satellites with Full Operational Capability (FOC) were on order
as of 1 January 2018. The first four pairs of satellites were launched on 22 August
2014, 27 March 2015, 11 September 2015 and 17 December 2015.
