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The link between space technology and user needs is innovation – innovation that’s happening at companies across Europe. 

As the go-to-source for all things EU Space, EUSPA has played – and continues to play – a big role in supporting this innovation. “We have built a reputation for being the single point of information, expertise and market intelligence that companies of all sizes depend on when integrating European space solutions into their business solutions,” adds EUSPA Executive Director Rodrigo da Costa.  

So, how can EUSPA help turn your innovative idea into a space-based success story? Let us count the ways!

1. Funding Initiatives

As any start-up knows all-too-well, the biggest challenge to innovation is funding. Based on the conversations our Market Development team have had with entrepreneurs, there’s a clear gap in what businesses need to innovate at their full potential and the funding and support that is currently available to them. The result is that some European companies struggle to get their innovations from drawing board to prototype, let alone to market. 

To help, EUSPA offers a wide-range of funding opportunities serving all entrepreneurial  needs during the entire innovation cycle: from Fundamental Elements and the development of innovative chipset, antenna and receiver technologies to the very successful Horizon Calls focusing on the development of innovative space downstream applications, and finally the CASSINI activities that range from hackathons, innovation prizes and contests like the myEUspace competition that target the expansion and growth of space ventures. In addition to cash prizes, many of these initiatives come with additional perks like business support and incubation. 

Likewise, Fundamental Elements is an R&D funding mechanism designed to support the development of innovative chipset, antenna and receiver technologies that industry would not yet invest in on its own initiative. In doing so, the programme helps accelerate the integration of European GNSS into market-ready devices and solutions.

To see how 38 companies have already benefited from the initiative, be sure to download our Fundamental Elements Catalogue.     

Last but not least, the EUSPA Space Academy is your ticket to creating ground-breaking new apps and disruptive business solutions using the power of EU Space. The online training is open to all individuals, start-ups, entrepreneurs and SMEs who want to learn the ins and outs of building a space application business. There are numerous courses to choose from, all of which are taught by top academics, industry leaders and EUSPA experts. Oh, and did we mention that it’s 100% free?

2. Market intelligence

As an SME or start-up, you simply can’t afford to make decisions blindly. That’s why EUSPA should be your new best friend. 

We are well-known across the industry as a leading source of critical market intelligence, one that is regularly relied upon by policymakers, entrepreneurs and major corporations. For example, our EO and GNSS Market Report provides in-depth analyses on the latest global trends and developments, and it does so through illustrated examples and use cases.  

EUSPA’s team of market experts also carefully monitor the latest trends and developments in user technology, which we cover in our GNSS User Technology Report. Written with the advice of leading receiver and chipset manufacturers, this report serves as a valuable tool to support planning and decision-making on the development, purchasing and use of GNSS user technology.

Or maybe you want to become an active investor in the exciting field of space technology? No worries, EUSPA has you covered too. Our GNSS Investment Report, the first of its kind, quantifies the investment needs of major companies and looks at the impact the acquisition of EU companies by foreign investors has on Europe’s overall competitiveness. 

With Europe’s Green Deal opening up a plethora of opportunities for innovative companies, this year EUSPA published its EU Space for Green Transformation Report. In addition to introducing the Green Deal and its implications for companies, the report also presents detailed examples of how various industries are leveraging the power of EU Space to drive their sustainability journeys.

You can download all our market intelligence publications free of charge here. 

3. Innovation across all EU Space Programme components

Charged with promoting Copernicus’ services, data and market uptake, EUSPA is actively helping European companies embrace Earth Observation. For instance, we are in constant communication with European companies, advising them on how they can best leverage Copernicus data, information and services. 

In addition, preparing for GOVSATCOM and IRIS2, our funding opportunities focus on various areas of satellite communications. We have launched several funding opportunities for companies, including Horizon Europe calls and CASSINI initiatives covering all space programme components.

4. Promoting the EU Space brand

In addition to supporting the development of innovative chipsets and receivers, EUSPA also works tirelessly to ensure that the world’s leading chip manufacturers include Galileo in their products. As a result of this work, over 3.9 billion Galileo-enabled smartphones have been sold worldwide – which is good news for European companies developing location-based services and applications. 

5. Talent and skill development

According to European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton, a skilled workforce is the key to sustainable growth, innovation and competitiveness. “Europe's strength resides in its talent, including engineers, researchers and entrepreneurs,” he says. “To achieve our Digital Decade and Green Deal goals, we want to support our companies, in particular SMEs, in hiring, training and keeping talent.”

Here, EUSPA offers paid traineeships where university students and graduates acquire the skills they need to enter the labour market with confidence. 

An ecosystem of starts-ups and SMEs

Thanks in part to support initiatives like these, EUSPA has built a sizeable ecosystem of start-ups and SMEs, all of whom are leveraging the benefits of EU space data and services. In fact, to date, more than 1000 companies have received support from EUSPA. 

Ready to add your company’s name to this list? 

Then contact us today at market@euspa.europa.eu and let EUSPA be your partner in innovation!

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

"From a historical perspective this was one the greatest achievements of the EU," says EUSPA Executive director Rodrigo da Costa. "Determining a position on the ground using only Galileo was essentially the first step towards shielding our autonomy and sovereignty in space." he highlights. 

This first position fix of longitude, latitude and altitude using the Galileo constellation took place at the Navigation Laboratory at ESA’s technical heart ESTEC, in Noordwijk, Netherlands on the morning of 12 March, with a level of accuracy between 10 and 15 metres.

Since then, Galileo has been growing, exceeding performance expectations, and enabling a multitude of applications thanks to the broad range of services it offers. 

A significant milestone was marked in 2016 with the declaration of Galileo Initial Services to become available at the end of that year providing guaranteed services to users. As of today, the EU’s positioning system offers a set of services to end users with more currently under development. 

With 28 satellites currently in orbit the system offers:

Open Service (OS): Open Service (OS) enables free-of-charge, global ranging, positioning and timing, using the Galileo OS Signal-In-Space (SIS).

Search and Rescue Service (SAR): The Galileo Search and Rescue service allows for the location of people in distress within 10 minutes and a radius below 5km. All you need is a Galileo-enabled Personal Location Beacon (PLB).  

High Accuracy Service (HAS): On the basis of this brand new service, declared operational on the 24/01/2023,  Galileo becomes the first GNSS system providing, globally and free of charge, corrections to the Galileo and GPS signals to enable a positioning accuracy down to decimetre level (when processed by a Precise Point Positioning (PPP) algorithm by the user).

"The main power of Galileo is felt in the downstream sector, especially if we think that over 4 billion Galileo-enabled smartphones have been sold and that millions of users in many sectors rely on it.” concludes EUSPA Executive Director, Rodrigo da Costa. 

Read this: Another step for EU’s positioning system: Nikolina joins the Galileo family!

What’s next?

The Galileo is being continuously improved to ensure seamless, safe and secured service delivery 24/7 to users worldwide. EUSPA is currently working on delivering next-generation services based on Galileo’s precise signals, timing capabilities and robust performance.

Likewise, upon a successful public observation phase ongoing since November 2021, the Galileo OSNMA is expected to become operational within the coming year. The OSNMA is a new, breakthrough feature of Europe’s positioning system that meets a clear user need: improve the trustworthiness of GNSS signals. This service provides an authentication mechanism to allow Open Service users to verify that the navigation data they have received comes directly from Galileo and has not been modified. 

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

"From a historical perspective this was one the greatest achievements of the EU," says EUSPA Executive director Rodrigo da Costa. "Determining a position on the ground using only Galileo was essentially the first step towards shielding our autonomy and sovereignty in space." he highlights. 

This first position fix of longitude, latitude and altitude using the Galileo constellation took place at the Navigation Laboratory at ESA’s technical heart ESTEC, in Noordwijk, Netherlands on the morning of 12 March, with a level of accuracy between 10 and 15 metres.

Since then, Galileo has been growing, exceeding performance expectations, and enabling a multitude of applications thanks to the broad range of services it offers. 

A significant milestone was marked in 2016 with the declaration of Galileo Initial Services to become available at the end of that year providing guaranteed services to users. As of today, the EU’s positioning system offers a set of services to end users with more currently under development. 

With 28 satellites currently in orbit the system offers:

Open Service (OS): Open Service (OS) enables free-of-charge, global ranging, positioning and timing, using the Galileo OS Signal-In-Space (SIS).

Search and Rescue Service (SAR): The Galileo Search and Rescue service allows for the location of people in distress within 10 minutes and a radius below 5km. All you need is a Galileo-enabled Personal Location Beacon (PLB).  

High Accuracy Service (HAS): On the basis of this brand new service, declared operational on the 24/01/2024,  Galileo becomes the first GNSS system providing, globally and free of charge, corrections to the Galileo and GPS signals to enable a positioning accuracy down to decimetre level (when processed by a Precise Point Positioning (PPP) algorithm by the user).

"The main power of Galileo is felt in the downstream sector, especially if we think that over 4 billion Galileo-enabled smartphones have been sold and that millions of users in many sectors rely on it.” concludes EUSPA Executive Director, Rodrigo da Costa. 

Read this: Another step for EU’s positioning system: Nikolina joins the Galileo family!

What’s next?

The Galileo is being continuously improved to ensure seamless, safe and secured service delivery 24/7 to users worldwide. EUSPA is currently working on delivering next-generation services based on Galileo’s precise signals, timing capabilities and robust performance.

Likewise, upon a successful public observation phase ongoing since November 2021, the Galileo OSNMA is expected to become operational within the coming year. The OSNMA is a new, breakthrough feature of Europe’s positioning system that meets a clear user need: improve the trustworthiness of GNSS signals. This service provides an authentication mechanism to allow Open Service users to verify that the navigation data they have received comes directly from Galileo and has not been modified. 

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

"From a historical perspective this was one the greatest achievements of the EU," says EUSPA Executive director Rodrigo da Costa. "Determining a position on the ground using only Galileo was essentially the first step towards shielding our autonomy and sovereignty in space." he highlights. 

This first position fix of longitude, latitude and altitude using the Galileo constellation took place at the Navigation Laboratory at ESA’s technical heart ESTEC, in Noordwijk, Netherlands on the morning of 12 March 2013, with a level of accuracy between 10 and 15 metres.

Since then, Galileo has been growing, exceeding performance expectations, and enabling a multitude of applications thanks to the broad range of services it offers. 

A significant milestone was marked in 2016 with the declaration of Galileo Initial Services to become available at the end of that year providing guaranteed services to users. As of today, the EU’s positioning system offers a set of services to end users with more currently under development. 

With 28 satellites currently in orbit the system offers:

Open Service (OS): Open Service (OS) enables free-of-charge, global ranging, positioning and timing, using the Galileo OS Signal-In-Space (SIS).

Search and Rescue Service (SAR): The Galileo Search and Rescue service allows for the location of people in distress within 10 minutes and a radius below 5km. All you need is a Galileo-enabled Personal Location Beacon (PLB).  

High Accuracy Service (HAS): On the basis of this brand new service, declared operational on the 24/01/2023,  Galileo becomes the first GNSS system providing, globally and free of charge, corrections to the Galileo and GPS signals to enable a positioning accuracy down to decimetre level (when processed by a Precise Point Positioning (PPP) algorithm by the user).

"The main power of Galileo is felt in the downstream sector, especially if we think that over 4 billion Galileo-enabled smartphones have been sold and that millions of users in many sectors rely on it.” concludes EUSPA Executive Director, Rodrigo da Costa. 

Read this: Another step for EU’s positioning system: Nikolina joins the Galileo family!

What’s next?

The Galileo is being continuously improved to ensure seamless, safe and secured service delivery 24/7 to users worldwide. EUSPA is currently working on delivering next-generation services based on Galileo’s precise signals, timing capabilities and robust performance.

Likewise, upon a successful public observation phase ongoing since November 2021, the Galileo OSNMA is expected to become operational within the coming year. The OSNMA is a new, breakthrough feature of Europe’s positioning system that meets a clear user need: improve the trustworthiness of GNSS signals. This service provides an authentication mechanism to allow Open Service users to verify that the navigation data they have received comes directly from Galileo and has not been modified. 

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).