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INSIDE
THE COMMUNITY
EC, ESA funding propels Galileo
programme
The European Commission (EC) and European Space
Agency (ESA) are accelerating their efforts to create an independent
European component to the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)
called Galileo. France's Alcatel Espace and Italy's Alenia appear
to be the leading candidates to head the teams for the EC and ESA
portions, respectively, to receive the primary contracts to define
the system architecture, management structure, and institutional
relationships.
Meanwhile, an October meeting of the European Union's
Council of Transport Ministers took up two issues: establishing
a legal framework for the Galileo Steering Committee -- headed by
the EC and ESA -- and approving a formal directive to begin negotiations
with Russia and the United States. According to sources involved
in the programme, the actions had originally been scheduled for
December, but EU political leaders are anxious to move Galileo ahead
as quickly as possible.
A July 19 resolution by the Council of the European
Union on "the involvement of Europe in a new generation of satellite
navigation services" directed the EC, by the beginning of year 2000,
to examine scenarios for revenue generation and refine a vision
for a "publicprivate partnership" that would support development
and operation of Galileo. The council resolution also authorised
a "definition phase" for the programme that would run through the
end of next year and address governance, operational management,
system design, security, and services costs and benefits.
For its part, ESA will lead the technical development
of the Galileo space and ground segments through its GalileoSat
programme, which will address such matters as spacecraft and navigation
payload design, signal structure, and navigation performance, integrity,
and security requirements.
The EC and ESA have allocated more than E80 million
(about US$81 million) for the work during the definition phase to
support a final decision on Galileo. Current cost projections to
build the Galileo ground and space segment range from E1.6 billion
(about $1.8 billion) for a 21-satellite mid-Earth-orbit (MEO) constellation
plus three geostationary satellites (GEOs) to E2.2 billion for a
36-MEOsat constellation and nine GEOs. As presently conceived, Galileo
satellites would operate at an altitude of 24,000 kilometres, slightly
above GPS's 20,000-kilometre orbits. Inclusion of a "closed access
service" would add an estimated E600700 million to the initial
costs. Recurring annual expenses to operate the full system beginning
in 2008 are estimated at E140205 million per year.
The agencies have been negotiating with prospective
private partners, leading up to a "prequalification" of candidates
during November and the letting of the separate EC and ESA contracts.
At a November space industry meeting in Washington, D.C., representatives
of ESA and Alcatel said it appears that a consortium led by Alenia
and including Alcatel Space, DaimlerChrysler Aerospace, and Matra
Marconi, along with 45 other companies will receive the major GalileoSat
contract from ESA. The same large consortium, only with Alcatel
serving as prime contractor, is likely to receive the lead contract
for the EC portion of the programme.
Both contracts are expected to involve about E20
million each. Remaining funds from the overall Galileo budgets are
expected to be distributed through a dozen or so smaller contracts.
According to one source, the contracts to be let during the definition
phase will require the work of 350400 engineers in aerospace,
radionavigation, and related fields -- stretching the limits of
the available European workforce with expertise in satellite-based
navigation and positioning systems.
FDC, a Paris-based engineering company, has received
two of the first projects launched by the EC on Galileo under the
5th Framework R&D Programme. With Sextant Avionique and the
newly formed Organisation of European GNSS Equipment and Services
Industries (OREGIN) as partners, FDC is leading a project to prepare
Galileo, information about user-equipment specifications and standardisation,
particularly for safety-critical operations. The company is also
coordinating day-to-day support to the European Commission in Galileo
programme management and coordination of European activities, in
partnership with the French, German, and Italian national space
agencies and the United Kingdom's Defence Evaluation and Research
Agency. FDC is opening an office in Brussels to support the latter
activity.
At their October 6 meeting, the transport ministers
authorised the EC to open negotiations with the two existing GNSS
operators, Russia's GLONASS and the U.S. Global Positioning System,
regarding development of an interoperable GNSS. It also took note
of the EC's progress, under the auspices of a June 17 Council resolution,
in setting up a provisional Galileo Steering Committee and asked
the commission to present a proposal for establishing that committee
as soon as possible.
Organisers launch vigorous effort
for GNSS 2000
Following on a recent conference in Genoa, Italy,
Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) issues and applications
will receive another round of concentrated attention at the GNSS
2000 conference scheduled 14 May 2000 in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The series, which evolved out of the Differential
Satellite Navigation Systems (DSNS) conferences first held in 1991,
had focused primarily on GPS and, especially in its 1996 heyday,
GLONASS. That changed in 1997 when, partly at the prompting of European
political officials, the event was turned over to the newly form-ed
European Group of Insti tutes of Navigation (EUGIN) and assumed
the GNSS terminology. Jac Spaans, president of the Netherlands Institute
of Navigation, was recently elected to head EUGIN, taking over for
Germany's Gerhard Boucke.
Organisers of the GNSS 2000 conference -- set under
the auspices of the Royal Institute of Navigation -- hope to broaden
the appeal of the event with vigorous marketing to GNSS user constituencies
and commercial vendors. Under the direction of programme chair Mike
Savill, a radio engineer with the U.K.'s Northern Lighthouse Board
who also heads the Civil GPS Service Interface Committee's International
Information Subcommittee, the event is being organised by In Conference
Ltd.
The programme will have three parallel tracks with
several sessions focussing on user experiences and practical applications
of GNSS technologies, keynote sessions on GPS and GLONASS system
status as well as Galileo programme development, augmentation systems,
and standardisation and implementation issues.
For details, contact In Conference Ltd., 10b Broughton
Street Lane, Edinburgh EH1 3LY, Scotland, UK, +44 (0)131 556 9245,
fax +44 (0)131 556 9638, e-mail <inconference co.uk>,
Internet <www.gnss2000. com>.c
INSIDE
THE COMMUNITY
RIN/ILA sign resolution
regarding terrestrial and satellite nav systems
Because "the principle of relying on one radionavigation
system as the sole means of navigation is unsafe and neither technically
nor operationally viable," attendees at the Royal Institute of Navigation's
NAV99 Conference and International Loran Association's (ILA) 28th
Annual Convention and Technical Symposium, concluded the meeting
with a resolution declaring that terrestrial radionavigation systems
should be preserved and integrated with satellite-based systems
in a multimodal approach.
The resolution encouraged the continuation of Loran-C
and Russia's Chayka system as well as their integration with satnav
technologies through the implementation of Eurofix. It also recommended
that studies continue into the integration of satnav systems with
inertial systems, distance measuring equipment, and instrument and
microwave landing systems for aviation operations.
The schematic above shows the proposed organisational
structure for the Galileo programme, including the leading roles
of the European Commission (EC) and European Space Agency (ESA),
during the programme's definition phase (through the end of 2000).
Assuming that a decision is made to proceed with
implementation of Galileo, this schematic shows the proposed evolution
of the system's provisional organisation into a permanent structure.
The Vehicle Company would be the entity charged with day-to-day
operational responsibilities.
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