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Europe's flagship space programmes, Galileo and Copernicus, serve as powerful tools for tackling today's economic, social, and environmental challenges, creating real opportunities for money making and job creation. This year's EU Space Week, which took place in the beautiful port city of Marseille, provided ample opportunities for reflection and exchange of ideas as the European space sector continues to move forward.

The 2018 EU Space Week opening plenary brought together an impressive array of key figures from the public sector and industry to deliver valuable insights into where the European space sector stands and where it is going.

The message from the European Commission was clear and simple: “Space is essential for our economy," said Elzbieta Bieńkowska, European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs. "We are not investing in space for the sake of space, but because of the benefits it brings to our citizens and society.”

The Commissioner's comments came with EU Parliament and Member States in the midst of negotiations concerning the next EU space budget. The current proposal sees about EUR 16 billion being invested during the period 2021-2027 to further strengthen Europe's leadership position in space. The new space programme, with a budget 50% higher than that of the previous seven year period, will solidify the EU's role as a world space player, successfully competing with both state and private-sector actors.

“Galileo, EGNOS and Copernicus are world-class European success stories,” Bieńkowska said. “We have fought hard to keep them funded and we can see the results.”

Tangible outcomes

The European space sector employs over 231,000 professionals, with an estimated value of EUR 53-62 billion in 2017. Europe manufactures an astonishing one third of all the world's satellites. Galileo programme successes enumerated by Bieńkowska include recent satellite launches, bringing the system nearer and nearer to full operational capacity. And, she said, Galileo Initial Services, launched in December 2016, have surpassed all expectations in terms of performance. The coming months and years will see new Galileo services coming on line, including the secure Public Regulated Service (PRS), the Search and Rescue service (SAR) and a free high-accuracy service, among others.

Galileo is certainly leading the way in the area of dual-frequency signal delivery, now with more dual-frequency operational satellites in orbit than any other GNSS system. And market uptake of Galileo receivers has been impressive, with 500 million Galileo-enabled smartphones now on the market, thanks largely to the efforts of the European GNSS Agency (GSA). Marseille native and President of the French Space Agency (CNES) Jean-Yves Le Gall called Galileo a “fine testimony” to European teamwork.

For European GNSS Agency (GSA) Executive Director Carlo des Dorides, the success of Galileo has had a lot to do with forward thinking and constant contact with user communities. "We did a lot of preparatory work to ensure market uptake," he said. "We had to get to know the people we were talking to, such as the chip set and receiver manufacturers. And we had financial tools in place to help facilitate their decision making." There is still work to be done, Bieńkowska said, arguing, for example, for a change of mind-set needed to keep young European space entrepreneurs in Europe, through greater private investment and venture capitalism.

Cooperation and competition were the key words for European Space Agency (ESA) Director General Jan Wörner. He said competition is good, but he added: “To remain strong and autonomous, Europe also needs to focus on cooperation. We need to continue to come together, to join forces.” Wörner also reminded gathered participants of the important role of space in stimulating and inspiring young people.

Inspiring words

Another source of inspiration for the gathered delegates was Simonetta Di Pippo, the Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA). She spoke of unlocking the full potential of the global talent pool under the UN's boldest sustainable development agenda ever. "We are seeing an expanding portfolio of opportunities and invaluable partnerships are being created," she said, "bringing more and more countries into the space community."

Read this: European GNSS and Earth Observation: A promising convergence for sustainable development

Pierre Delsaux, Deputy Director General for DG GROW, European Commission, referenced the recent decision by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approving the use of Galileo In the United States. "This is a clear sign of the increasing global acceptance of European space leadership."

Aiming his comments directly at the gathered European space community, Delsaux said: "These systems, Galileo and Copernicus, are infrastructure tools for innovation and growth on Earth. We, the European institutions, are not in charge of innovation. Our role is to deliver the tools, to set the legal environment, to remove barriers. But innovation is done by you, the people on the ground. I am truly proud of the work you are doing."

Responding to Bieńkowska comments on the lack of enthusiasm shown by European venture capital, Delsaux said: "We have capacity, we have venture capital, but in Europe the money is sleeping in bank accounts. We must change our mentality. The US dares to do innovation. We should do more.”

Business perspectives

In addition to the policy-related presentations, the opening plenary also featured round-table discussions with representatives of businesses that are turning space-based data from Galileo and Copernicus into valuable services on the ground.

Michael Bültmann, Managing Director of HERE Deutschland, talked about how his company is putting space data to work: “Every industry needs location data to maximize value. Intelligent use of high-quality location data gives us the real-time information and insights that not only unlock the power of burgeoning technologies, such as autonomous vehicle navigation, but enable greater accuracy and efficiency across sectors."

From pinpointing and tracking assets, Bültmann said, to managing fleets, improving traffic flow and creating better urban infrastructure, satellite technologies are now playing an increasingly important role in improving the quality of all manner of data and thereby enhancing a wide range of business opportunities.

In today's increasingly unpredictable geopolitical context, space activities are a strategic game changer. Space is a question of science, exploration and international cooperation and, through critical programmes such as Galileo and Copernicus, space plays a very practical role in terms of boosting innovation, economic growth and security.

With over a thousand participants the 2018 edition of EU Space Week provided an ideal forum for leaders, as well as key user communities, to network, talk about projects and perspectives, and to recognise the best of Europe's GNSS researchers and entrepreneurs.

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).

Europe's flagship space programmes, Galileo and Copernicus, serve as powerful tools for tackling today's economic, social, and environmental challenges, creating real opportunities for money making and job creation. This year's EU Space Week, which took place in the beautiful port city of Marseille, provided ample opportunities for reflection and exchange of ideas as the European space sector continues to move forward.

The 2018 EU Space Week opening plenary brought together an impressive array of key figures from the public sector and industry to deliver valuable insights into where the European space sector stands and where it is going.

The message from the European Commission was clear and simple: “Space is essential for our economy," said Elzbieta Bieńkowska, European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs. "We are not investing in space for the sake of space, but because of the benefits it brings to our citizens and society.”

Watch this: EU Space Week in Marseille, 3 - 6 December 2018

The Commissioner's comments came with EU Parliament and Member States in the midst of negotiations concerning the next EU space budget. The current proposal sees about EUR 16 billion being invested during the period 2021-2027 to further strengthen Europe's leadership position in space. The new space programme, with a budget 50% higher than that of the previous seven year period, will solidify the EU's role as a world space player, successfully competing with both state and private-sector actors.

“Galileo, EGNOS and Copernicus are world-class European success stories,” Bieńkowska said. “We have fought hard to keep them funded and we can see the results.”

Tangible outcomes

The European space sector employs over 231,000 professionals, with an estimated value of EUR 53-62 billion in 2017. Europe manufactures an astonishing one third of all the world's satellites. Galileo programme successes enumerated by Bieńkowska include recent satellite launches, bringing the system nearer and nearer to full operational capacity. And, she said, Galileo Initial Services, launched in December 2016, have surpassed all expectations in terms of performance. The coming months and years will see new Galileo services coming on line, including the secure Public Regulated Service (PRS), the Search and Rescue service (SAR) and a free high-accuracy service, among others.

Galileo is certainly leading the way in the area of dual-frequency signal delivery, now with more dual-frequency operational satellites in orbit than any other GNSS system. And market uptake of Galileo receivers has been impressive, with 500 million Galileo-enabled smartphones now on the market, thanks largely to the efforts of the European GNSS Agency (GSA). Marseille native and President of the French Space Agency (CNES) Jean-Yves Le Gall called Galileo a “fine testimony” to European teamwork.

For European GNSS Agency (GSA) Executive Director Carlo des Dorides, the success of Galileo has had a lot to do with forward thinking and constant contact with user communities. "We did a lot of preparatory work to ensure market uptake," he said. "We had to get to know the people we were talking to, such as the chip set and receiver manufacturers. And we had financial tools in place to help facilitate their decision making." There is still work to be done, Bieńkowska said, arguing, for example, for a change of mind-set needed to keep young European space entrepreneurs in Europe, through greater private investment and venture capitalism.

Cooperation and competition were the key words for European Space Agency (ESA) Director General Jan Wörner. He said competition is good, but he added: “To remain strong and autonomous, Europe also needs to focus on cooperation. We need to continue to come together, to join forces.” Wörner also reminded gathered participants of the important role of space in stimulating and inspiring young people.

Inspiring words

Another source of inspiration for the gathered delegates was Simonetta Di Pippo, the Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA). She spoke of unlocking the full potential of the global talent pool under the UN's boldest sustainable development agenda ever. "We are seeing an expanding portfolio of opportunities and invaluable partnerships are being created," she said, "bringing more and more countries into the space community."

Read this: European GNSS and Earth Observation: A promising convergence for sustainable development

Pierre Delsaux, Deputy Director General for DG GROW, European Commission, referenced the recent decision by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approving the use of Galileo In the United States. "This is a clear sign of the increasing global acceptance of European space leadership."

Aiming his comments directly at the gathered European space community, Delsaux said: "These systems, Galileo and Copernicus, are infrastructure tools for innovation and growth on Earth. We, the European institutions, are not in charge of innovation. Our role is to deliver the tools, to set the legal environment, to remove barriers. But innovation is done by you, the people on the ground. I am truly proud of the work you are doing."

Responding to Bieńkowska comments on the lack of enthusiasm shown by European venture capital, Delsaux said: "We have capacity, we have venture capital, but in Europe the money is sleeping in bank accounts. We must change our mentality. The US dares to do innovation. We should do more.”

Business perspectives

In addition to the policy-related presentations, the opening plenary also featured round-table discussions with representatives of businesses that are turning space-based data from Galileo and Copernicus into valuable services on the ground.

Michael Bültmann, Managing Director of HERE Deutschland, talked about how his company is putting space data to work: “Every industry needs location data to maximize value. Intelligent use of high-quality location data gives us the real-time information and insights that not only unlock the power of burgeoning technologies, such as autonomous vehicle navigation, but enable greater accuracy and efficiency across sectors."

From pinpointing and tracking assets, Bültmann said, to managing fleets, improving traffic flow and creating better urban infrastructure, satellite technologies are now playing an increasingly important role in improving the quality of all manner of data and thereby enhancing a wide range of business opportunities.

In today's increasingly unpredictable geopolitical context, space activities are a strategic game changer. Space is a question of science, exploration and international cooperation and, through critical programmes such as Galileo and Copernicus, space plays a very practical role in terms of boosting innovation, economic growth and security.

With over a thousand participants the 2018 edition of EU Space Week provided an ideal forum for leaders, as well as key user communities, to network, talk about projects and perspectives, and to recognise the best of Europe's GNSS researchers and entrepreneurs.

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).

In good news for the maritime and inland waterways domain, initial results show that EGNOS corrections perform well when retransmitted over IALA beacons and AIS base stations.

As a member of the International Association of Maritime Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA), the GSA has been working to foster safer and more efficient maritime travel through the use of such improved and harmonised navigation aids as satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS), including EGNOS. In fact, this potential use of SBAS corrections for navigation, in both coastal waters and inland waterways (IWW), has attracted the attention of many European authorities interested in its potential to complement their Differential GNSS (DGNSS) radio beacon networks.

Watch this: EGNOS for Waterborne Transport

To better understand this potential, the GSA, along with consortium partners ALG, Indra, ESSP and Alberding GmbH, launched a pilot project on the transmission of SBAS corrections via IALA beacons and automatic identification systems (AIS) for the maritime and IWW domain.

The project aims to demonstrate the operational performance of the transmission of EGNOS corrections converted to DGNSS corrections over the existing transmission infrastructure (AIS base stations/IALA beacons) used by the maritime and IWW domain, while also providing a detailed cost/benefit analysis of the proposed solutions.

A two-step approach

To accomplish this, the project is utilising a two-step approach. In the first phase, which concluded in April 2018, the consortium established an advisory board and working groups, along with a preliminary assessment of the technical, operational and economic feasibility analysis of the different service provision schemes.

In the currently ongoing second phase, the focus is on the deployment of the preferred service provision schemes. To start, the consortium selected the most suitable architectures for transmitting the EGNOS-based virtual reference stations (VRS) differential corrections, which can be either centralised or de-centralised. The four pilots uses a fair combination of both IALA beacons and AIS stations, as well as maritime and IWW domains, with data being collected from both static and dynamic receivers. Furthermore, DGNSS corrections that are currently being generated and broadcasted to users have been deactivated and replaced with the EGNOS-based solution (with the current infrastructure remaining as a backup).

Satisfactory performance

With the results from the first batch of pilot projects in, researchers can confirm that EGNOS-based corrections have achieved performance levels above or closely below the requirements set by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). According to project researchers, this is mainly due to the:

• High availability of the EGNOS Signal in Space (SiS) (100% in the period of analysis when using combined SiS) and of the EGNOS Data Access Service (EDAS) (only minor outages detected); and
• High quality of the corrections generated.

Ongoing work

A fine tuning of the system is being implemented for those cases where requirements are not fully met.

In close cooperation with the participating authorities, the consortium has also developed a complete cost-benefit model for quantifying potential savings brought by the introduction of EGNOS and to assess the optimal deployment strategy for maximising the benefits of this transition. On top of this, some possible operational benefits are also being analysed. Finally, the consortium is working on an EGNOS Service Provision operational/liability scheme.

The second quarterly report can be downloaded 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).