With the launch of the Galileo Project, the European Union has
finally launched the creation of its own satellite navigation
system, which will be added to those currently managed by the
United States (GPS – Global Positioning System) and Russia
(Glonass – Global Navigation Satellite System). This positioning
and satellite navigation system, planned for civilian needs with
the objective of making the European Community independent, in
the short run, from the use of the American GPS system, is based
on 30 satellites, put in orbit at an altitude of 24,000 kilometers,
capable of covering the entire Earth through a network of control
stations on the ground.
Thanks to this structure, Galileo presents itself as a secure
and efficient system, guaranteeing very high precision and reliability:
with a maximum approximation of one meter, Galileo will be able
to locate the position of any object, both stationary and moving.
Within a few years, everyone will be able to determine their position
with a tiny margin for error, with the use of a small receiver.
Therefore, it is not difficult to imagine the countless applications
of such a European system of radionavigation: from transport security
(maritime, aerial, and terrestrial), to environment protection,
to the support of rescue services, to the development of new bank
systems.
The total cost of Galileo is 3400 million Euro, of which 1100
for the development phase (2002-2005); two thirds of this will
be covered by the private sector. The project is currently in
the development phase, managed by the Galileo Joint Undertaking,
whose founding members are the European Union and the European
Space Agency. The development phase has the function of realizing
the spatial and terrestrial segments of the system, as well as
launching the first satellites for the validation of the system.
The first satellite was successfully launched on December 28,
2005.
The Joint Undertaking has currently underway the negotiation for
the concession of the system with the association resulting from
the fusion of the two partnerships (iNavSat, with Thales, EADS
and Immarsat; and Eurely, with Alcatel, Finmeccanica and AENA),
already competing in bidding for the choice of concessionaire
which will manage Galileo in the upcoming deployment and operative
phases. Negotiations should be concluded by the end of 2006. It
is foreseen that the Council will be presented, before the signing
of the relevant contract, with a report containing a rational
analysis of the results, with special reference to the final costs
and to the division of risks between the public and the private
sectors.
On the institutional level, in June 2004 the Transport Council
approved the creation of the Galileo Supervisory Authority, which,
after the end of the Joint Undertaking, will assume property of
the system and will become the granting authority constituting
the public interface of the concessionaire. In December 2004 the
Transport Council defined the spectrum of services which the system
will offer (the Open Service – OS; the Commercial Service
– CS; the Safety of Life Service – SoL; the Search
and Rescue Service; the Public Regulated Service - PRS).
The European Union, however, doesn’t intend to limit its
project to within the European borders. It recognizes the enormous
potential of a combined use of all currently existing satellite
systems. To that end, the Commission has concluded an agreement
with the United States for interoperability and compatibility
between Galileo and GPS, and negotiations are currently underway
with Russia to reach interoperability with Glonass.
Two cooperation agreements have been signed with the People’s
Republic of China and with Israel; these countries have manifested
the intention of participating, even financially, to the development
of the Galileo project. Other agreements have been signed with
India and Ukraine. Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea have
also joined the program.
