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Česká kosmická kancelář bez projektového financování po roce opět umožnila českým studentským týmům zúčastnit se mezinárodního projektu „Citizen science close to space“.

Česká kosmická kancelář bez projektového financování po roce opět umožnila českým studentským týmům zúčastnit se mezinárodního projektu „Citizen science close to space“.

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This has been a year of tremendous growth for the GSA, Galileo, EGNOS and the European Space Programme as a whole. We hit the ground running in 2019, buoyed by a wave of optimism following the successful European Space Week, held in in Marseille last December. 

At the end of 2018 we launched the Accuracy Matters campaign to raise awareness among end users and the public about the benefits of Galileo. This campaign continued to run throughout 2019 and has been very effective in raising the public profile of the European space programme in general and of Galileo in particular.

Throughout the year, we stayed true to our mission of putting users at the centre of Galileo service provision and work continued at full speed to prepare for the launch of Full Operational Capability next year. In February, we commissioned a batch of four Galileo satellites, bringing the number of launched satellites to 26. February also saw the launch of the world’s first Galileo-enabled personal location beacon (PLB), with the Return Link Service endorsed by COSPAS-SARSAT towards the end of the year, further consolidating Galileo’s contribution to global search and rescue. 

In aviation, the European space programme continued to make a significant contribution to increased safety and efficiency, and the GSA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the deployment manager for the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) on future cooperation to modernise EU air traffic management by leveraging Galileo and EGNOS. 

EGNOS is continuing its evolution towards EGNOS V3, which will augment both GPS and Galileo in the L1 and L5 bands, supported by payload launched this year. Furthermore, following the successful testing of EGNOS corrections in the maritime domain at the end of last year, EGNOS has also been performing well for the maritime community.

There were major developments for the space sector in Europe in April, when the European Parliament endorsed a provisional agreement on the EU Space Programme for 2021-2027. This new EUR 16-billion programme will help maintain and further enhance the EU's leadership in space. The new programme also has major implications for the GSA, which will grow into the European Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) with an expanded mandate to manage the market uptake and communications of the Copernicus Earth observation programme, helping ensure that synergies between Galileo and Copernicus can be exploited to the benefit of European society and business. The Space Programme also introduces the new security-related space initiatives Space and Situational Awareness (SSA) and Governmental Satellite Communication (GOVSATCOM), which will put Europe in a better position to react to ongoing changes in the international space sector.

The skies were not entirely cloud-free this year, however. In July a technical incident related to the Galileo ground infrastructure resulted in a temporary interruption of the Galileo initial navigation and timing services. Following the incident, we worked closely with all our partners to remedy the situation as quickly as possible and an Independent Inquiry Board was set up by the European Commission to identify the root causes of the incident. While this incident was a setback, valuable lessons were learned ahead of reaching Full Operational Capability and I believe that the GSA and the Galileo programme will be stronger as a result.

September was an exciting month. Galileo reached a major milestone, when the estimated number of Galileo-enabled smartphones in use reached 1 billion. At the same time, the GSA celebrated its 15th anniversary, as part of which we signed a cooperation agreement with the European Investment Bank to support investment in the European space-based service economy. This agreement will help ensure that the European space programme is leveraged to the fullest extent to allow Europeans reap the greatest possible benefits in terms of economic growth and job creation.

In October we launched the 6th issue of our GNSS Market Report. Providing comprehensive information on the dynamic global GNSS market along with in-depth analysis of the latest global trends and developments, this report was eagerly awaited by all market stakeholders and was downloaded over 1,000 times in the first 24 hours. The 1-billion smartphones milestone reached in the previous month, and the market uptake figures in the Market Report, particularly in new markets such as drones and New Space, are extremely encouraging and indicate a growing EU share of the market for downstream applications.

The year drew to a close with three successful demos stemming from GSA research and development projects (Horizon 2020 and Fundamental Elements), again clearly showing the tangible benefits and innovation delivered when EU funding, industry and SMEs come together. In the first of these the GSA and its partners successfully performed end-to-end tests on remote beacon activation using the Galileo Return Link Service (RLS), helping to validate the operational concept for a potential new use of Galileo to support fast response in distress situations. Then we had a live demo of the first autonomous vehicle powered by Galileo, during which an electric car was autonomously driven on a track and public roads, in a world first for Galileo. The PRoPART Galileo-based positioning solution for automated trucks and advanced driver assistance systems was also successfully tested at the end of the month.

These are exciting times for the space industry, 2020 will mark a turning point for Europe’s space programmes and for the GSA, with the Galileo programme getting closer to Full Operational Capability and the GSA to take up its expanded responsibilities within the European Agency for the Space Programme. In the 15 years since it was created, the GSA has put together a uniquely talented and interdisciplinary team with a diverse range of skills and expertise. As a result, the GSA has a stronger basis than ever and is ready to tackle the challenges ahead and turn Europe’s investment in space into opportunities for growth.

EUSPA will usher in a new era for the EU space programme. With its expanded mandate, our team will work to maintain our excellent performance in operations management, service delivery and security. We will also open up new markets and applications, create new funding opportunities and reach out to new stakeholders and user communities. Consolidation of the EU space programmes within one agency will make it possible to explore new horizons and create even stronger links between our satellites in space and the needs of users on the ground.

Our core aim will always be to strengthen the European space programme, while at the same time building an Agency that is future-proof, ready to learn and grow and quickly respond to change, because it is only in this way that we can consolidate the EU’s position as a global space power. 

As the year draws to a close, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the GSA staff for their hard work and commitment throughout the year, and to the European GNSS user community for their continued trust and support. It is thanks to this support that European GNSS continues to flourish.

Best wishes for 2020 to all of you!

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).

Even though the General Aviation (GA) community undertakes millions of flights on aircraft equipped with GNSS-receivers, it is not taking full advantage of the technology. It is a priority of the European GNSS Agency (GSA) to support GA by facilitating instrument procedures with EGNOS. As a first step the GSA has identified enablers and blocking points along with aviation stakeholders and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

There are currently 660 EGNOS procedures in Europe, most of which are at instrument runways. However, EGNOS can also support general and business aviation on non-instrument runways. The GSA has issued safety promotion material on GNSS-based Instrument Flight Procedures implementation for General Aviation, Uncontrolled Aerodromes and Non-Instrument Runways in an effort to address this and encourage a wider use of EGNOS in general aviation.

The materials draw together the current regulatory analysis supporting EGNOS operations, along with enablers and best practices to support implementation, open issues and, last but not least, use case examples to encourage national authorities to authorise these types of operations in their countries. This includes examples showcasing how these can be implemented at locations where there are currently visual flight rules only.

Read this: EGNSS enabling change in General Aviation

High engagement

This document is aligned with the EASA Roadmap for General Aviation, which identifies simpler, more proportional rules and operations that are cost efficient, flexible and based on existing best practices. It aims to provide a view on the current implementation enablers in different EU countries and highlights the results of EASA RMTs (Rule Making Tasks) which can be relevant for the implementation of IFR for General Aviation.

“The General Aviation community undertakes millions of flights with aircraft equipped with GNSS-receivers without using the full capabilities of this new technology. By developing IFR procedures for situations where the ground infrastructure may not be present at the aerodrome it would enable GA pilots to plan A-to-B flights with more confidence of being able to complete them safely in changing weather conditions, which would have a positive impact on safety. EASA is extremely grateful to EGA for this collaborative effort,” said Dominique Roland, Head of General Aviation & Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems at EASA.

The document will be of interest to General Aviation community, aerodromes, and air traffic control staff and national authorities alike. Publication of this document aims to start a discussion within the General aviation community, trigger future pilot cases and obtain feedback to identify the tools that should be developed to support the implementation of the IFR procedures for general aviation. 

“Engagement from the aviation community has been high - we received more than 320 comments from over 25 contributors, including civil aviation authorities, air navigation service providers and others during preparation of the document. The GSA would like to thank all the contributors and supporters of this initiative, as this support was fundamental to the development of the document,” said GSA head of Market Development department Fiammetta Diani. “Special thanks go to EASA, ESSP, PPL IR, AOPA, EBAA, Austro Control, DFS, IDRF, FOCA Swiss, the Swedish Transport Agency, Europe Air Sports and the European Regional Aerodromes Community,” she said.

Just the beginning

The document will be published as a Safety Promotion material under EASA’s Together4Safety Safety Promotion initiative. This initiative is a key enabler towards reaching the ultimate objectives of the EU Aviation Safety Management Strategy and contributes to the continuous improvement of aviation safety in Europe and worldwide, together with regulations and oversight.

And this: Austro Control and EGNOS – a story of success

Publication of the materials is just the beginning. The GSA is launching a network of pilot cases in 2020 to collect lessons learned and best practices to promote and support future implementation. It is also proof that GNSS/SBAS is ready to support many different types of operations, extending beyond the traditional scope or initial objectives that the technology was designed for. If you would like to be among first to implement LPV at a non-instrument runway, you are more than welcome!

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).