Galileo - Midterm Review
Date: Wednesday, January 19 @ 15:45:19 UTC
Topic:
More Galileo news. Following our news of the wikileaks cable leak earlier this week (see here), OHB CEO Berry Smutny was removed from his his post. And yesterday the European Commission presented their midterm review of the European satellite navigation programme Galileo.
With the in-orbit testing of the two experimental satellites underway and the building of the first four operational satellites nearing completion the EC expect initial navigational services will commence in 2014.
Despite initial objections by the US and a myriad of other obstacles, the technical achievements have been impressive and the UK has lead the way in the design and construction of the new satellites. Each one will be more technically advanced, more accurate and far cheaper to build and launch than those of its US rival, Navstar.
The BBC were leading today with a news item claiming additional costs of €1.9 billion. These are not additional, and unforeseen, as claimed but are instead part of the anticipated costs necessary to complete the satellite constellation, which will, when finished, number 30 satellites in total.
The EU estimates that €800 billion of Europe's GDP currently relies on satellite navigation and the global market for satnav applications, growing at 30% in recent years could be worth €240 billion by 2020.
Budget costs for Galileo consist of €3.4 billion financed by the EU for work until 2013 (which includes the manufacture and launch of the first 18 satellites) and the additional, forecast €1.9 billion required to complete the infrastructure and to bring all 30 satellites into service.
Galileo will bring faster, more accurate positioning, with accuracy of one metre as well as separate, encrypted services that will be made available to critical transport and emergency service users.
For more information on Galileo see here.
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