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The European GNSS Agency (GSA) is pleased to announce that registration for European Space Week 2018 is now open. Register today, and don’t miss out on this opportunity to shape the discussion at the number one European Union space event connecting business, policy-makers, international experts, space-powered businesses and application user communities.

Space is coming to Marseille on 3-6 December 2018, in the beautiful Pharo Palace. Kicking off with the 2nd European GNSS User Consultation Platform and the 5th European Space Solutions Conference, presenting the latest space-powered answers to today’s business challenges, European Space Week 2018 will examine how Europe is using space to tackle challenges in such diverse areas as sustainable development, mobility, defence, economic development and the environment.

At the European Space Week plenary session, participants will learn more about the state of the art of Galileo, EGNOS and Copernicus, with input from keynote speakers and high-level officials, including Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Elżbieta Bieńkowska, GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides, French Space Agency (CNES) President Jean-Yves Le Gall and many more.

Parallel sessions dedicated to Smart Cities, Sustainable Land Management, Interconnectivity, Marine and Maritime, Infrastructure Management, Security and Defence will examine how European businesses, entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized companies can harness the power of space technology to build the innovative applications and services needed in these areas.

European Space Week 2018 will be an opportunity to learn about the current status of the EU space programmes and to connect with more than 1,500 attendees from across Europe and beyond.

Follow this link to register for European Space Week 2018 and help shape the discussion about how the European space programmes Galileo, Copernicus and EGNOS can be harnessed to benefit Europe’s businesses and citizens.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) 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 GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).

Ionospheric effects can be a major source of disruption to GNSS signals, so it is important to be able to predict and compensate for these disturbances. With this in mind, the European Commission-funded Galileo Ionosphere Prediction Service (IPS) monitors ionospheric activity and informs GNSS users in good time of an upcoming event that could disrupt GNSS signals and applications.

The IPS monitors and forecasts solar and ionospheric activity and predicts its effect on GNSS signals and on the final performance of user applications. The Service makes it possible to anticipate any degradation of performance, allowing operators to put in place mitigation measures in good time.

The IPS predictions are delivered for ionosphere-related parameters and GNSS performance at both the European and global level. Delivered in three time scales (nowcast, 30 minutes and 24 hours ahead), the alerts are sent to registered users when the IPS predictions exceed thresholds that have been-pre-defined by the user.

User benefits

The IPS will benefit all users of GNSS signals whose operations can be seriously disrupted by insufficient GNSS performance, in particular the aviation industry, where GNSS performance is important for safety. Also in the aviation sector, the IPS will contribute to ongoing International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) developments in the framework of the Near Real-time Space Weather Information service provision.

The ICAO and other institutional initiatives in the field of operational space weather can reuse the IPS prediction products, compare them with their own predictions, or feed the additional observation and prediction data into their own algorithms to improve the reliability of the forecast. Other users that stand to benefit include electricity and energy grids and professional users such as construction and civil engineering businesses that require stable precise positioning accuracy for their operations.

Fully automated

The IPS concept is based on three pillars – the sensors that take the measurements, a processing facility to generate forecasts and a web-based user interface. The prototype is fully automated and the platform is configurable - only products selected by the user are displayed on the user page.

To access the portal, click here.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) 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 GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).

Ionospheric effects can be a major source of disruption to GNSS signals, so it is important to be able to predict and compensate for these disturbances. With this in mind, the European Commission-funded Galileo Ionosphere Prediction Service (IPS) monitors ionospheric activity and informs GNSS users in good time of an upcoming event that could disrupt GNSS signals and applications.

The IPS monitors and forecasts solar and ionospheric activity and predicts its effect on GNSS signals and on the final performance of user applications. The Service makes it possible to anticipate any degradation of performance, allowing operators to put in place mitigation measures in good time.

The IPS predictions are delivered for ionosphere-related parameters and GNSS performance at both the European and global level. Delivered in three time scales (nowcast, 30 minutes and 24 hours ahead), the alerts are sent to registered users when the IPS predictions exceed thresholds that have been-pre-defined by the user.

User benefits

The IPS will benefit all users of GNSS signals whose operations can be seriously disrupted by insufficient GNSS performance, in particular the aviation industry, where GNSS performance is important for safety.

In addition, institutional actors interested in operational space weather can reuse the IPS prediction products, compare them with their own predictions, or feed the additional observation and prediction data into their own algorithms to improve the reliability of the forecast. Other users that stand to benefit include electricity and energy grids and professional users such as construction and civil engineering businesses that require stable precise positioning accuracy for their operations.

Fully automated

The IPS concept is based on three pillars – the sensors that take the measurements, a processing facility to generate forecasts and a web-based user interface. The prototype is fully automated and the platform is configurable - only products selected by the user are displayed on the user page.

The prototype has been developed and funded by Horizon 2020, involving a team of engineers and scientists from across Europe, with the support of the Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy.

To access the portal, click here.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) 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 GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).

Ionospheric effects can be a major source of disruption to GNSS signals, so it is important to be able to predict and compensate for these disturbances. With this in mind, the European Commission-funded Galileo Ionosphere Prediction Service (IPS) monitors ionospheric activity and informs GNSS users in good time of an upcoming event that could disrupt GNSS signals and applications.

The IPS monitors and forecasts solar and ionospheric activity and predicts its effect on GNSS signals and on the final performance of user applications. The Service makes it possible to anticipate any degradation of performance, allowing operators to put in place mitigation measures in good time.

The IPS predictions are delivered for ionosphere-related parameters and GNSS performance at both the European and global level. Delivered in three time scales (nowcast, 30 minutes and 24 hours ahead), the alerts are sent to registered users when the IPS predictions exceed thresholds that have been-pre-defined by the user.

User benefits

The IPS will benefit all users of GNSS signals whose operations can be seriously disrupted by insufficient GNSS performance, in particular the aviation industry, where GNSS performance is important for safety.

In addition, institutional actors interested in operational space weather can reuse the IPS prediction products, compare them with their own predictions, or feed the additional observation and prediction data into their own algorithms to improve the reliability of the forecast. Other users that stand to benefit include electricity and energy grids and professional users such as construction and civil engineering businesses that require stable precise positioning accuracy for their operations.

Fully automated

The IPS concept is based on three pillars – the sensors that take the measurements, a processing facility to generate forecasts and a web-based user interface. The prototype is fully automated and the platform is configurable - only products selected by the user are displayed on the user page.

To access the portal, click here.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) 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 GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).

Carmaker Volvo presented its V60 model, the first one equipped with the Pan-European eCall emergency response system, at the ITS World Congress 2018 in Copenhagen on 18 September. eCall leverages the precise positioning offered by Galileo and EGNOS to quickly share the location with emergency services in the event of a road accident, automatically dialling the European emergency number 112.

The Volvo V60 eCall launch represents an important milestone for the European space programme, as it is the first vehicle´s passive safety application enabled by Galileo and EGNOS. Speaking at the event, GSA Officer Alberto Fernández Wyttenbach stressed that this milestone could not have been reached without international industrial cooperation. “This level of industrial cooperation is something that the EU is particularly trying to foster,” he said.

Going global

Volvo is the first carmaker to announce that it is equipping its vehicles with eCall, complementing the previous OnCall system for technical assistance. Leif Ivarsson, Legal Manager for Telematics & Connectivity at Volvo Cars noted that Russia was first country to introduce a similar system, with its ERA-GLONASS rapid response. However, following the rollout of the pan-European eCall, Ivarsson said that the system could be used as a template for similar systems in Malaysia, Korea, Japan or the United Arab Emirates in the near future. “In a few years the service might be global,” he said.

Read this: eCall emergency alert system launched

Andreas Bergvall from ACTIA Nordic in Sweden, the manufacturer of the device installed in the Volvo cars, highlighted the added value provided by Galileo. “The contribution is twofold. First of all there is the increased signal availability that it provides, this is very important.

Equally important is the significant enhancement of accuracy positioning,” he said, adding that Galileo’s high accuracy will be also a key enabler of new services, such as automated driving.

100% reliable

To provide the required level of service, eCall needs to be 100% reliable, NavCert Managing Director Martin Grzebellus said at the launch event. “As it is the first time that Galileo is playing a key role in the vehicle´s safety, so certification is very important,” he said.

Grzebellus said that while Volvo is the first carmaker to launch eCall on the European market, NavCert is currently testing eCall in 10 other vehicles, with the next launch expected in just few weeks, so stay tuned!

The eCall device in the Volvo vehicles is manufactured by ACTIA Nordic in Sweden, is supported by the WirelessCar platform, and has been successfully tested by the NavCert eCall Laboratory in Germany. The readiness of automotive suppliers and technical services to equip the vehicles was partially due to actions taken by the GSA and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, who launched a testing campaign and produced a joint report containing a set of guidelines to facilitate the implementation of eCall testing in compliance with the EU Regulation. Indeed, more eCall models from Volvo are expected to be launched by the end of 2018, in particular the S60 and the V60CC.

What is eCall?

eCall devices automatically dial the European emergency number 112 to alert rescue services in the event of an accident. The system sends the exact location to responders, along with the time of the incident and the direction of travel, even if the driver is unconscious or unable to make a phone call, thereby reducing the response time for road accidents and saving more lives. An eCall can also be triggered manually by pushing a button in the car, for example by a witness to a serious accident.

eCall only transmits data that is absolutely necessary when an accident occurs. Information only leaves the car in the event of a severe accident and is not stored any longer than necessary.

It is estimated that eCall will speed up emergency response times by 40% in urban areas and 50% in the countryside and reduce the number of fatalities by at least 4% and the number of severe injuries by 6%. You can find more information about eCall here.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) 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 GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).

On Friday, November 16th and Saturday 17th, the GSA Headquarters in Prague will be open to the public for the 4th year in a row. 

This is a unique opportunity to get an insider’s look at the European GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) services and the people behind them.

Part of the Czech Space Week 2018 activities, this year’s GSA Open Days will give you a chance to experience the journey of Galileo satellites from the rocket launch in Kourou, French Guiana, to the services used by citizens and business worldwide. This is your opportunity to learn more about what the European Union is doing in space and satellite navigation; the crucial role of the GSA and the impact satellite navigation has in our daily lives.  

The programme includes exciting seminars and space workshops, competitions and quizzes, programmes for school visits, and other fun educational activities!

Come visit us and see and follow Galileo satellites, take a selfie in space, try landing a plane with EGNOS or experience a Search and Rescue with the help of Galileo, and win great prizes!

The draft programme can be found here.

If you would like to visit us as a school, please fill in the registration form.

Follow @EU_GNSS for regular Open Days updates on Twitter.

Use the hashtag #GSAOpenDays to share your experience of this year’s Open Days.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) 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 GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).