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The official inauguration of the Galileo Reference Centre took place on 16 May 2018 in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. The Centre represents another crucial Galileo Programme element now in place, supporting the provision of services to the core system and its users.

Speaking at the Galileo Reference Centre (GRC) inauguration event in Noordwijk, which also comprised a short seminar, Pierre Delsaux, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission's DG GROW said, "I love the slogan: 'Linking Space and User Needs'. This is exactly what we want – new services based on space systems, bringing these services to new consumers, which means economic growth and more jobs for European citizens."

The role of public authorities like the Commission, Delsaux said, is to provide the tools that allow businesses and new start-ups to realise their ideas, and with tools like EGNOS, Galileo and Copernicus, the Union is indeed providing a very powerful set of tools. Galileo is now well into its service provision phase, European GNSS is a reality, and the way is now clear for exploitation.

Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen officially inaugurated the Galileo Reference Centre (GRC)

"Using satellites is more important than launching them," Delsaux said. "People need to be aware of all that is made possible by space. We want our businesses to grow and use space. We are investing money, and that money is being invested in Europe and by Europe because we want economic benefits for Europe."

GRC an important new player

Galileo is operated and maintained under the aegis of the European GNSS Agency (GSA). One of the GSA's most vital tasks is to work to keep end-user needs at the centre of the Galileo Programme, and the new GRC will be an important part of that process, monitoring the additional accuracy and availability delivered by Galileo and the disseminating this information free of charge.

GRC Manager Peter Buist provided a clear description of the Centre's mission:

• Performing independent monitoring and assessment of Galileo service provision;
• Assessing, when feasible, the compatibility and interoperability of Galileo vis-a-vis other GNSS;
• Providing service performance expertise to the Programme;
• Supporting investigations of service performance and service degradations;
• Providing an archiving service for performance data over the nominal operational lifetime of the system; and
• Integrating data and products from EU Member States, and Norway and Switzerland.

Among GRC deliverables are regular reports, on daily, monthly and quarterly bases. "The first quarterly report is already available," Buist said, "and it reveals excellent performance by Galileo, much better than the 7m accuracy target, in spite of the fact that the full system is not yet deployed."

The GRC architecture is fully independent of the Galileo Service Operator (GSOp) and monitors each Galileo service against Key Performance Indicators and Figures of Merit.

Buist stressed the consolidating role of the GRC, bringing together information from all possible data sources to assess and provide information on Galileo performance. "We of course have our own advanced hardware and other technical facilities here at the GRC, but we are also maintaining good relationships with the EU Member States, Norway and Switzerland, where they have a lot of their own national expertise and resources that can help us with additional information to monitor GNSS performances. And this also extends to our international partners – that's GPS, GLONASS, and so forth – with whom we have agreed to monitoring the various GNSS systems."

Galileo on a roll

The new levels of GNSS performance provided by Galileo will enable a range of new applications and services, a few of which were outlined by GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides. He started by reflecting on the past two years, which saw, among other things, the rapid completion of the GRC itself. "It's a special feeling to see this new building, this beautiful centre," he said, "and we do want to thank the European Space Agency, with  ESTEC just nearby, for hosting us in the interim. We have here a very good example of meaningful working relationship with ESA and it is a great thing to be with them in Noordwijk.

Long-time space proponent and host of the Noordwijk event, , now Dutch Minister for Infrastructure and Water Management, also had positive words to say about the location: "The potential synergy that we have here, now with the GRC and with ESA ESTEC, this is an important concentration of knowledge and people."

GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides (right), Dutch Minister for Infrastructure and Water Management Cora van Nieuwenhuizen, and DG GROW Deputy Director-General Pierre Delsaux at GRC inauguration.

"As for Galileo," des Dorides continued, "we have a commitment to a specific level of performance, and there are more satellite launches coming this year and more services. We will have the authentication feature and a new high-accuracy service coming soon. So Galileo is very quickly taking shape and taking its place in the world market."

Des Dorides mentioned clear opportunities in the automotive sector, with connected cars and automated cars not too far in the future. "By 2025," he said, "the market for automotive-related GNSS is now projected at 22 to 26 billion dollars per year, so this is a new frontier. Galileo will be a fundamental part of the future multi-constellation, high-accuracy, fast time-to-first-fix, and dual-frequency GNSS environment."

Civil aviation, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and rail transport sectors, des Dorides said, also represent key opportunities for the GNSS industry, but there are many others.

Coming back to the immediate subject of the event, des Dorides said, "This GRC is here to monitor and assess independently the performance of Galileo, and we think this could potentially also serve a secondary role in the sense of establishing the important element of trustworthiness, especially for the safety-of-life applications, like aviation and other safety-critical applications. This is clearly a potential area of growth for the GRC."

For the last words, we return to Pierre Delsaux: "We've heard it here today – we have heard so many great ideas – it is clear that space is now fundamental to economic growth. If we don't do it, someone else will." And he recalled the words he heard himself as a young student in France in May '68: "L'magination au pouvior! Power to imagination!" words that, in this very new context, are still as inspirational as they were 50 years ago.

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).

The official inauguration of the Galileo Reference Centre took place on 16 May 2018 in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. The Centre represents another crucial Galileo Programme element now in place, supporting the provision of services to the core system and its users.

Speaking at the Galileo Reference Centre (GRC) inauguration event in Noordwijk, which also comprised a short seminar, Pierre Delsaux, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission's DG GROW said, "I love the slogan: 'Linking Space and User Needs'. This is exactly what we want – new services based on space systems, bringing these services to new consumers, which means economic growth and more jobs for European citizens."

The role of public authorities like the Commission, Delsaux said, is to provide the tools that allow businesses and new start-ups to realise their ideas, and with tools like EGNOS, Galileo and Copernicus, the Union is indeed providing a very powerful set of tools. Galileo is now well into its service provision phase, European GNSS is a reality, and the way is now clear for exploitation.

Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen officially inaugurated the Galileo Reference Centre (GRC)

"Using satellites is more important than launching them," Delsaux said. "People need to be aware of all that is made possible by space. We want our businesses to grow and use space. We are investing money, and that money is being invested in Europe and by Europe because we want economic benefits for Europe."

GRC an important new player

Galileo is operated and maintained under the aegis of the European GNSS Agency (GSA). One of the GSA's most vital tasks is to work to keep end-user needs at the centre of the Galileo Programme, and the new GRC will be an important part of that process, monitoring the additional accuracy and availability delivered by Galileo and the disseminating this information free of charge.

GRC Manager Peter Buist provided a clear description of the Centre's mission:

• Performing independent monitoring and assessment of Galileo service provision;
• Assessing, when feasible, the compatibility and interoperability of Galileo vis-a-vis other GNSS;
• Providing service performance expertise to the Programme;
• Supporting investigations of service performance and service degradations;
• Providing an archiving service for performance data over the nominal operational lifetime of the system; and
• Integrating data and products from EU Member States, and Norway and Switzerland.

Among GRC deliverables are regular reports, on daily, monthly and quarterly bases. "The first quarterly report is already available," Buist said, "and it reveals excellent performance by Galileo, much better than the 7m accuracy target, in spite of the fact that the full system is not yet deployed."

The GRC architecture is fully independent of the Galileo Service Operator (GSOp) and monitors each Galileo service against Key Performance Indicators and Figures of Merit.

Buist stressed the consolidating role of the GRC, bringing together information from all possible data sources to assess and provide information on Galileo performance. "We of course have our own advanced hardware and other technical facilities here at the GRC, but we are also maintaining good relationships with the EU Member States, Norway and Switzerland, where they have a lot of their own national expertise and resources that can help us with additional information to monitor GNSS performances. And this also extends to our international partners – that's GPS, GLONASS, and so forth – with whom we have agreed to monitoring the various GNSS systems."

Galileo on a roll

The new levels of GNSS performance provided by Galileo will enable a range of new applications and services, a few of which were outlined by GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides. He started by reflecting on the past two years, which saw, among other things, the rapid completion of the GRC itself. "It's a special feeling to see this new building, this beautiful centre," he said, "and we do want to thank the European Space Agency, with  ESTEC just nearby, for hosting us in the interim. We have here a very good example of meaningful working relationship with ESA and it is a great thing to be with them in Noordwijk.

Long-time space proponent and host of the Noordwijk event, , now Dutch Minister for Infrastructure and Water Management, also had positive words to say about the location: "The potential synergy that we have here, now with the GRC and with ESA ESTEC, this is an important concentration of knowledge and people."

GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides (right), Dutch Minister for Infrastructure and Water Management Cora van Nieuwenhuizen, and DG GROW Deputy Director-General Pierre Delsaux at GRC inauguration.

"As for Galileo," des Dorides continued, "we have a commitment to a specific level of performance, and there are more satellite launches coming this year and more services. We will have the authentication feature and a new high-accuracy service coming soon. So Galileo is very quickly taking shape and taking its place in the world market."

Des Dorides mentioned clear opportunities in the automotive sector, with connected cars and automated cars not too far in the future. "By 2025," he said, "the market for automotive-related GNSS is now projected at 22 to 26 billion dollars per year, so this is a new frontier. Galileo will be a fundamental part of the future multi-constellation, high-accuracy, fast time-to-first-fix, and dual-frequency GNSS environment."

Civil aviation, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and rail transport sectors, des Dorides said, also represent key opportunities for the GNSS industry, but there are many others.

Coming back to the immediate subject of the event, des Dorides said, "This GRC is here to monitor and assess independently the performance of Galileo, and we think this could potentially also serve a secondary role in the sense of establishing the important element of trustworthiness, especially for the safety-of-life applications, like aviation and other safety-critical applications. This is clearly a potential area of growth for the GRC."

For the last words, we return to Pierre Delsaux: "We've heard it here today – we have heard so many great ideas – it is clear that space is now fundamental to economic growth. If we don't do it, someone else will." And he recalled the words he heard himself as a young student in France in May '68: "L'magination au pouvior! Power to imagination!" words that, in this very new context, are still as inspirational as they were 50 years ago.

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).

The official inauguration of the Galileo Reference Centre took place on 16 May 2018 in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. The Centre represents another crucial Galileo Programme element now in place, supporting the provision of services to the core system and its users.

Speaking at the Galileo Reference Centre (GRC) inauguration event in Noordwijk, which also comprised a short seminar, Pierre Delsaux, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission's DG GROW said, "I love the slogan: 'Linking Space and User Needs'. This is exactly what we want – new services based on space systems, bringing these services to new consumers, which means economic growth and more jobs for European citizens."

The role of public authorities like the Commission, Delsaux said, is to provide the tools that allow businesses and new start-ups to realise their ideas, and with tools like EGNOS, Galileo and Copernicus, the Union is indeed providing a very powerful set of tools. Galileo is now well into its service provision phase, European GNSS is a reality, and the way is now clear for exploitation.

Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen officially inaugurated the Galileo Reference Centre (GRC)

"Using satellites is more important than launching them," Delsaux said. "People need to be aware of all that is made possible by space. We want our businesses to grow and use space. We are investing money, and that money is being invested in Europe and by Europe because we want economic benefits for Europe."

GRC an important new player

Galileo is operated and maintained under the aegis of the European GNSS Agency (GSA). One of the GSA's most vital tasks is to work to keep end-user needs at the centre of the Galileo Programme, and the new GRC will be an important part of that process, monitoring the additional accuracy and availability delivered by Galileo and the disseminating this information free of charge.

GRC Manager Peter Buist provided a clear description of the Centre's mission:

• Performing independent monitoring and assessment of Galileo service provision;
• Assessing, when feasible, the compatibility and interoperability of Galileo vis-a-vis other GNSS;
• Providing service performance expertise to the Programme;
• Supporting investigations of service performance and service degradations;
• Providing an archiving service for performance data over the nominal operational lifetime of the system; and
• Integrating data and products from EU Member States, and Norway and Switzerland.

Among GRC deliverables are regular reports, on daily, monthly and quarterly bases. "The first quarterly report is already available," Buist said, "and it reveals excellent performance by Galileo, much better than the 7m accuracy target, in spite of the fact that the full system is not yet deployed."

The GRC architecture is fully independent of the Galileo Service Operator (GSOp) and monitors each Galileo service against Key Performance Indicators and Figures of Merit.

Buist stressed the consolidating role of the GRC, bringing together information from all possible data sources to assess and provide information on Galileo performance. "We of course have our own advanced hardware and other technical facilities here at the GRC, but we are also maintaining good relationships with the EU Member States, where they have a lot of their own national expertise and resources that can help us with additional information to monitor GNSS performances. And this also extends to our international partners – that's GPS, GLONASS, and so forth – with whom we have agreements on monitoring the various GNSS systems."

Galileo on a roll

The new levels of GNSS performance provided by Galileo will enable a range of new applications and services, a few of which were outlined by GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides. He started by reflecting on the past two years, which saw, among other things, the rapid completion of the GRC itself. "It's a special feeling to see this new building, this beautiful centre," he said, "and we do want to thank the European Space Agency, with  ESTEC just nearby, for hosting us in the interim. We have here a very good example of a meaningful working relationship with ESA and it is a great thing to be with them in Noordwijk.

Long-time space proponent and host of the Noordwijk event, , now Dutch Minister for Infrastructure and Water Management, also had positive words to say about the location: "The potential synergy that we have here, now with the GRC and with ESA ESTEC, this is an important concentration of knowledge and people."

GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides (right), Dutch Minister for Infrastructure and Water Management Cora van Nieuwenhuizen, and DG GROW Deputy Director-General Pierre Delsaux at GRC inauguration.

"As for Galileo," des Dorides continued, "we have a commitment to a specific level of performance, and there are more satellite launches coming this year and more services. We will have the authentication feature and a new high-accuracy service coming soon. So Galileo is very quickly taking shape and taking its place in the world market."

Des Dorides mentioned clear opportunities in the automotive sector, with connected cars and automated cars not too far in the future. "By 2025," he said, "the market for automotive-related GNSS is now projected at 22 to 26 billion dollars per year, so this is a new frontier. Galileo will be a fundamental part of the future multi-constellation, high-accuracy, fast time-to-first-fix, and dual-frequency GNSS environment."

Civil aviation, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and rail transport sectors, des Dorides said, also represent key opportunities for the GNSS industry, but there are many others.

Coming back to the immediate subject of the event, des Dorides said, "This GRC is here to monitor and assess independently the performance of Galileo, and we think this could potentially also serve a secondary role in the sense of establishing the important element of trustworthiness, especially for the safety-of-life applications, like aviation and other safety-critical applications. This is clearly a potential area of growth for the GRC."

For the last words, we return to Pierre Delsaux: "We've heard it here today – we have heard so many great ideas – it is clear that space is now fundamental to economic growth. If we don't do it, someone else will." And he recalled the words he heard himself as a young student in France in May '68: "L'magination au pouvior! Power to imagination!" words that, in this very new context, are still as inspirational as they were 50 years ago.

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).

The official inauguration of the Galileo Reference Centre took place on 16 May 2018 in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. The Centre represents another crucial Galileo Programme element now in place, supporting the provision of services to the core system and its users.

Speaking at the Galileo Reference Centre (GRC) inauguration event in Noordwijk, which also comprised a short seminar, Pierre Delsaux, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission's DG GROW said, "I love the slogan: 'Linking Space and User Needs'. This is exactly what we want – new services based on space systems, bringing these services to new consumers, which means economic growth and more jobs for European citizens."

The role of public authorities like the Commission, Delsaux said, is to provide the tools that allow businesses and new start-ups to realise their ideas, and with tools like EGNOS, Galileo and Copernicus, the Union is indeed providing a very powerful set of tools. Galileo is now well into its service provision phase, European GNSS is a reality, and the way is now clear for exploitation.

Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen officially inaugurated the Galileo Reference Centre (GRC)

"Using satellites is more important than launching them," Delsaux said. "People need to be aware of all that is made possible by space. We want our businesses to grow and use space. We are investing money, and that money is being invested in Europe and by Europe because we want economic benefits for Europe."

GRC an important new player

Galileo is operated and maintained under the aegis of the European GNSS Agency (GSA). One of the GSA's most vital tasks is to work to keep end-user needs at the centre of the Galileo Programme, and the new GRC will be an important part of that process, monitoring the additional accuracy and availability delivered by Galileo and the disseminating this information free of charge.

GRC Manager Peter Buist provided a clear description of the Centre's mission:

• Performing independent monitoring and assessment of Galileo service provision;
• Assessing, when feasible, the compatibility and interoperability of Galileo vis-a-vis other GNSS;
• Providing service performance expertise to the Programme;
• Supporting investigations of service performance and service degradations;
• Providing an archiving service for performance data over the nominal operational lifetime of the system; and
• Integrating data and products from EU Member States, and Norway and Switzerland.

Among GRC deliverables are regular reports, on daily, monthly and quarterly bases. "The first quarterly report is already available," Buist said, "and it reveals excellent performance by Galileo, much better than the 7m accuracy target, in spite of the fact that the full system is not yet deployed."

The GRC architecture is fully independent of the Galileo Service Operator (GSOp) and monitors each Galileo service against Key Performance Indicators and Figures of Merit.

Buist stressed the consolidating role of the GRC, bringing together information from all possible data sources to assess and provide information on Galileo performance. "We of course have our own advanced hardware and other technical facilities here at the GRC, but we are also maintaining good relationships with the EU Member States, Norway and Switzerland, where they have a lot of their own national expertise and resources that can help us with additional information to monitor GNSS performances. And this also extends to our international partners – that's GPS, GLONASS, and so forth – with whom we have agreed to monitoring the various GNSS systems."

Galileo on a roll

The new levels of GNSS performance provided by Galileo will enable a range of new applications and services, a few of which were outlined by GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides. He started by reflecting on the past two years, which saw, among other things, the rapid completion of the GRC itself. "It's a special feeling to see this new building, this beautiful centre," he said, "and we do want to thank the European Space Agency, with  ESTEC just nearby, for hosting us in the interim. We have here a very good example of meaningful working relationship with ESA and it is a great thing to be with them in Noordwijk.

Long-time space proponent and host of the Noordwijk event, , now Dutch Minister for Infrastructure and Water Management, also had positive words to say about the location: "The potential synergy that we have here, now with the GRC and with ESA ESTEC, this is an important concentration of knowledge and people."

GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides (right), Dutch Minister for Infrastructure and Water Management Cora van Nieuwenhuizen, and DG GROW Deputy Director-General Pierre Delsaux at GRC inauguration.

"As for Galileo," des Dorides continued, "we have a commitment to a specific level of performance, and there are more satellite launches coming this year and more services. We will have the authentication feature and a new high-accuracy service coming soon. So Galileo is very quickly taking shape and taking its place in the world market."

Des Dorides mentioned clear opportunities in the automotive sector, with connected cars and automated cars not too far in the future. "By 2025," he said, "the market for automotive-related GNSS is now projected at 22 to 26 billion dollars per year, so this is a new frontier. Galileo will be a fundamental part of the future multi-constellation, high-accuracy, fast time-to-first-fix, and dual-frequency GNSS environment."

Civil aviation, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and rail transport sectors, des Dorides said, also represent key opportunities for the GNSS industry, but there are many others.

Coming back to the immediate subject of the event, des Dorides said, "This GRC is here to monitor and assess independently the performance of Galileo, and we think this could potentially also serve a secondary role in the sense of establishing the important element of trustworthiness, especially for the safety-of-life applications, like aviation and other safety-critical applications. This is clearly a potential area of growth for the GRC."

For the last words, we return to Pierre Delsaux: "We've heard it here today – we have heard so many great ideas – it is clear that space is now fundamental to economic growth. If we don't do it, someone else will." And he recalled the words he heard himself as a young student in France in May '68: "L'magination au pouvior! Power to imagination!" words that, in this very new context, are still as inspirational as they were 50 years ago.

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).

EGNSS is not only a business enabler, providing the data needed for countless new services and applications, the ‘Galileo model’ can also serve as a template for nascent space businesses, ensuring that they reap the greatest possible economic benefit from their efforts, according to speakers at the Challenges in Arctic Navigation workshop in Olos, Muonio, Finland on 16-18 April.

Participants in the Arctic navigation workshop noted that GNSS is no longer a breakthrough technology - it is already a business enabler that is used as the basis for service provision in many sectors, and the opportunities provided by GNSS are being embraced by the business community both in the Arctic region and elsewhere.

Enabling business development

At the workshop, Pauli Stigell, a senior advisor at Business Finland, spoke about his organisation’s New Space Economy programme, which funds start-ups and provides export services for space-related businesses. He said that the programme aims to double the exports of participating companies by 2020 while achieving an annual turnover of at least EUR 600 million in services within the sector. Stigell noted in particular the business-enabling potential of Galileo. “Galileo will be ready in 2020 and this will definitely create business,” he said.

A number of factors that might potentially hamper the development of GNSS-based businesses in the Arctic were highlighted during the workshop presentations. These included low satellite coverage and that the fact that signals in the Arctic region are vulnerable to space weather and ionospheric scintillation. However, it was also noted that the expansion of EGNOS coverage, along with new receiver designs and navigation systems, would improve redundancy and help mitigate the impact of these negative factors.

Watch this: EGNOS is Growing

In his presentation, Gian Gherardo Calini, the GSA’s Head of Market Development, highlighted funding opportunities that would address these restraining factors and contribute to the development of the EGNSS market in the Arctic region. He highlighted two open calls in particular:

• Aviation Grants call with a budget of EUR 10 million that is being made available to promote EGNOS operational implementation in aviation,
• Fundamental Elements call with a budget of EUR 6 million that targets the development of GNSS receiver technologies for the premium and general mass markets.

Galileo business model

During the workshop presentations, speakers noted that not only is Galileo an enabler of new businesses, services and applications; Galileo’s operating model can be used as a template for the commercial satellite sector. It was noted that the life-cycle of small commercial satellites of three to five years, or even of the larger commercial satellites, costing around EUR 100 million, of 10 years, is a very short time in which to build a business ecosystem on the ground.

In these conditions, it is crucial that businesses leveraging satellite technology are able to ramp up their service to a minimum service configuration, like the EU has been doing with Galileo, Juha-Matti Liukkonen, Director of Space and New Technologies at Reaktor, said.  “You start a minimum service as soon as possible to establish the viability of the business case and then you add capacity and coverage. Incremental development is the way to go,” he said.

Galileo launched its initial services in December 2016, when it had 18 satellites in orbit, which means that the system has started providing positioning, navigation and timing services to users around the world long before the constellation reaches full capacity in 2020.

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).

EGNSS is not only a business enabler, providing the data needed for countless new services and applications, the ‘Galileo model’ can also serve as a template for nascent space businesses, ensuring that they reap the greatest possible economic benefit from their efforts, according to speakers at the Challenges in Arctic Navigation workshop in Olos, Muonio, Finland on 16-18 April.

Participants in the Arctic navigation workshop noted that GNSS is no longer a breakthrough technology - it is already a business enabler that is used as the basis for service provision in many sectors, and the opportunities provided by GNSS are being embraced by the business community both in the Arctic region and elsewhere.

Enabling business development

At the workshop, Pauli Stigell, a senior advisor at Business Finland, spoke about his organisation’s New Space Economy programme, which funds start-ups and provides export services for space-related businesses. He said that the programme aims to double the exports of participating companies by 2020 while achieving an annual turnover of at least EUR 600 million in services within the sector. Stigell noted in particular the business-enabling potential of Galileo. “Galileo will be ready in 2020 and this will definitely create business,” he said.

A number of factors that might potentially hamper the development of GNSS-based businesses in the Arctic were highlighted during the workshop presentations. These included low satellite coverage and that the fact that signals in the Arctic region are vulnerable to space weather and ionospheric scintillation. However, it was also noted that the expansion of EGNOS coverage, along with new receiver designs and navigation systems, would improve redundancy and help mitigate the impact of these negative factors.

Watch this: EGNOS is Growing

In his presentation, Gian Gherardo Calini, the GSA’s Head of Market Development, highlighted funding opportunities that would address these restraining factors and contribute to the development of the EGNSS market in the Arctic region. He highlighted two open calls in particular:

• Aviation Grants call with a budget of EUR 10 million that is being made available to promote EGNOS operational implementation in aviation,
• Fundamental Elements call with a budget of EUR 6 million that targets the development of GNSS receiver technologies for the premium and general mass markets.

Galileo business model

During the workshop presentations, speakers noted that not only is Galileo an enabler of new businesses, services and applications; Galileo’s operating model can be used as a template for the commercial satellite sector. It was noted that the life-cycle of small commercial satellites of three to five years, or even of the larger commercial satellites, costing around EUR 100 million, of 10 years, is a very short time in which to build a business ecosystem on the ground.

In these conditions, it is crucial that businesses leveraging satellite technology are able to ramp up their service to a minimum service configuration, like the EU has been doing with Galileo, Juha-Matti Liukkonen, Director of Space and New Technologies at Reaktor, said.  “You start a minimum service as soon as possible to establish the viability of the business case and then you add capacity and coverage. Incremental development is the way to go,” he said.

Galileo launched its initial services in December 2016, when it had 18 satellites in orbit, which means that the system has started providing positioning, navigation and timing services to users around the world long before the constellation reaches full capacity in 2020.

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).

The Council of European Geodetic Surveyors (CLGE), in partnership with the European GNSS Agency (GSA), has launched the seventh edition of its Young Surveyors Prize. The 2018 edition of the competition is open for submissions and, as in previous years, the GSA is sponsoring a special prize for ideas leveraging Galileo, EGNOS and Copernicus.

For the seventh consecutive year, the Young Surveyor’s Prize is inviting students of topography, GIS, geodesy, mapping and related studies to submit unique and innovative ideas in their field of expertise. Each winner or winning team stands to win a prize of EUR 1000.

There are 5 categories in total: 

• Geodesy, Topography,
• Galileo, EGNOS, Copernicus,
• GIS, Mapping,
• Cadastre and Property Surveying,
• Student and youngster engagement.

The contest is open to all Bachelor and Masters students in the surveying sector or a related field from all European countries. The 2018 edition is also open to surveyors under the age of 36 or those who have been registered as surveyors for less than 10 years in a category - Student and youngster engagement. The winners will be invited an award ceremony, to be held during INTERGEO in Frankfurt on 17 October 2018.

GSA Prize

Applicants for the GSA special prize should submit a paper describing how their project leverages Galileo, EGNOS or Copernicus for use in professional receivers, mobile phones, drones, etc. before the 10 August 2018 by email at the address: contest@clge.eu. For further information please consult www.clge.eu/document. Papers that combine all three programmes are especially encouraged. The papers should not exceed 4000 words and should include an abstract of 300 words.

Last year’s winner

Last year’s winning entry in the Galileo, EGNOS, Copernicus category was Sander Varbla from the Tallinn University of Technology in Estonia. Varbla's paper, entitled 'Assessment of marine geoid models by ship-borne GNSS profiles', presented the results of a 2016 marine gravity and GNSS campaign carried out on board the Estonian Maritime Administration survey vessel 'Jakob Prei' in the West Estonian archipelago.

For more information on how to apply please 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).

The Council of European Geodetic Surveyors (CLGE), in partnership with the European GNSS Agency (GSA), has launched the seventh edition of its Young Surveyors Prize. The 2018 edition of the competition is open for submissions and, as in previous years, the GSA is sponsoring a special prize for ideas leveraging Galileo, EGNOS and Copernicus.

For the seventh consecutive year, the Young Surveyor’s Prize is inviting students of topography, GIS, geodesy, mapping and related studies to submit unique and innovative ideas in their field of expertise. Each winner or winning team stands to win a prize of EUR 1000.

There are 5 categories in total: 

• Geodesy, Topography,
• Galileo, EGNOS, Copernicus,
• GIS, Mapping,
• Cadastre and Property Surveying,
• Student and youngster engagement.

The contest is open to all Bachelor and Masters students in the surveying sector or a related field from all European countries. The 2018 edition is also open to surveyors under the age of 36 or those who have been registered as surveyors for less than 10 years in a category - Student and youngster engagement. The winners will be invited an award ceremony, to be held during INTERGEO in Frankfurt on 17 October 2018.

GSA Prize

Applicants for the GSA special prize should submit a paper describing how their project leverages Galileo, EGNOS or Copernicus for use in professional receivers, mobile phones, drones, etc. before the 10 August 2018 by email at the address: contest@clge.eu. For further information please consult www.clge.eu/document. Papers that combine all three programmes are especially encouraged. The papers should not exceed 4000 words and should include an abstract of 300 words.

Last year’s winner

Last year’s winning entry in the Galileo, EGNOS, Copernicus category was Sander Varbla from the Tallinn University of Technology in Estonia. Varbla's paper, entitled 'Assessment of marine geoid models by ship-borne GNSS profiles', presented the results of a 2016 marine gravity and GNSS campaign carried out on board the Estonian Maritime Administration survey vessel 'Jakob Prei' in the West Estonian archipelago.

For more information on how to apply please 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).