zprávy

With the 2018 edition of the European Union’s annual Green Week taking place across Europe from 21 to 25 May it is timely to consider the contributions that the European GNSS (EGNSS) – EGNOS and Galileo - are making to improving and protecting our environment.

The 2018 Green Week takes as its main theme ‘Green Cities for a Greener Future’ and will be exploring the ways in which the EU is helping cities to become better places to live and work. To be a Green City an urban area must be a Smart City: a city with smart mobility and connected services.

Mobility is an important part of everyone's daily lives. EGNSS, including EGNOS, is making life on the road easier by significantly reducing congestion and, consequently, reducing greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO2). EGNOS and Galileo are helping urban authorities to improve the efficiency of road transportation through navigation, fleet management opportunities and satellite road traffic monitoring.

Read this: Galileo: a critical component for autonomous driving

Location, location, location

The enhanced positioning capabilities of EGNSS is a key element in the safe and sustainable development of autonomous vehicles. These vehicles, ranging from passenger carriers to drone parcel delivery services, will help to further reduce congestion and pollution.
EGNSS technologies and location-based services are now becoming ubiquitous in urban areas. All mass market electronic devices, from smartphones and wearable devices, such as fitness monitors, to traffic lights and other components of the expanding Internet of Things (IoT), now have the capability to broadcast their location. This enables the provision of a new generation of location-based smart services for citizens and corporations that includes health and well-being monitoring and security applications and the control and optimisation of energy systems.

Sustainable development

Globally EGNSS is working with its sister programme Copernicus, Europe’s Earth Observation programme, to help the world meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that include a range of environmental targets.

The combination of Galileo’s high accuracy positioning and navigation with Copernicus’ services and analysis is increasingly creating opportunities in nearly every market segment. From providing the maps needed for finding the best locations for renewable energy infrastructure to outlining the most fuel-efficient flight paths, optimising road transportation routes and monitoring CO2 emissions, applications using both EGNSS and Earth Observation are providing answers to environmental issues.

A recent study, “EGNSS and COPERNICUS: Supporting the Sustainable Development Goals. Building blocks towards the 2030 Agenda”, showed how EU space technologies support the fulfilment of the UN SDGs. The analysis shows that all the SDGs are positively impacted by the benefits stemming from the use of EGNSS and Copernicus applications and that almost 40% of the associated indicators directly benefit from using their services, either supporting the monitoring of the status of achievement of a given SDG or actively contributing to their fulfilment.

Also read: Boosting EGNOS for better precision farming

Escape to the country

Closer to home, today, some 72% of European Precision Agriculture farmers rely on EGNOS to enhance precision agriculture: a solution for higher productivity and farm profitability. The main EGNSS application for precision agriculture is tractor guidance and automated tractor steering. Combined with Earth Observation data this allows, for example, highly efficient and reduced distribution of chemical fertilizer reducing environmental impact.

The detection of reflected GNSS signals can also directly measure soil moisture. This technique, called GNSS-R, can be used in all terrains to map soil humidity and optimise water resource management. It can also be used to monitor vulnerable wetlands for conservation purposes or flooded areas during an emergency.

Read more: GSA-funded GNSS-R project Mistrale

The ability to predict landslides and implement early interventions is critical when it comes to saving human lives and reducing damage. The sister EU programmes offer joint solutions for monitoring land movements: EGNSS provides highly accurate horizontal displacements, while Copernicus’s In-SAR data detects vertical displacements. This data can be used to formulate early warnings and to support timely interventions.

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).

With the 2018 edition of the European Union’s annual Green Week taking place across Europe from 21 to 25 May it is timely to consider the contributions that the European GNSS (EGNSS) – EGNOS and Galileo - are making to improving and protecting our environment.

The 2018 Green Week takes as its main theme ‘Green Cities for a Greener Future’ and will be exploring the ways in which the EU is helping cities to become better places to live and work. To be a Green City an urban area must be a Smart City: a city with smart mobility and connected services.

Mobility is an important part of everyone's daily lives. EGNSS, including EGNOS, is making life on the road easier by significantly reducing congestion and, consequently, reducing greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO2). EGNOS and Galileo are helping urban authorities to improve the efficiency of road transportation through navigation, fleet management opportunities and satellite road traffic monitoring.

Read this: Galileo: a critical component for autonomous driving

Location, location, location

The enhanced positioning capabilities of EGNSS is a key element in the safe and sustainable development of autonomous vehicles. These vehicles, ranging from passenger carriers to drone parcel delivery services, will help to further reduce congestion and pollution.

EGNSS technologies and location-based services are now becoming ubiquitous in urban areas. All mass market electronic devices, from smartphones and wearable devices, such as fitness monitors, to traffic lights and other components of the expanding Internet of Things (IoT), now have the capability to broadcast their location. This enables the provision of a new generation of location-based smart services for citizens and corporations that includes health and well-being monitoring and security applications and the control and optimisation of energy systems.

Sustainable development

Globally EGNSS is working with its sister programme Copernicus, Europe’s Earth Observation programme, to help the world meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that include a range of environmental targets.

The combination of Galileo’s high accuracy positioning and navigation with Copernicus’ services and analysis is increasingly creating opportunities in nearly every market segment. From providing the maps needed for finding the best locations for renewable energy infrastructure to outlining the most fuel-efficient flight paths, optimising road transportation routes and monitoring CO2 emissions, applications using both EGNSS and Earth Observation are providing answers to environmental issues.

A recent study, “EGNSS and COPERNICUS: Supporting the Sustainable Development Goals. Building blocks towards the 2030 Agenda”, showed how EU space technologies support the fulfilment of the UN SDGs. The analysis shows that all the SDGs are positively impacted by the benefits stemming from the use of EGNSS and Copernicus applications and that almost 40% of the associated indicators directly benefit from using their services, either supporting the monitoring of the status of achievement of a given SDG or actively contributing to their fulfilment.

Also read: Boosting EGNOS for better precision farming

Escape to the country

Closer to home, today, some 72% of European Precision Agriculture farmers rely on EGNOS to enhance precision agriculture: a solution for higher productivity and farm profitability. The main EGNSS application for precision agriculture is tractor guidance and automated tractor steering. Combined with Earth Observation data this allows, for example, highly efficient and reduced distribution of chemical fertilizer reducing environmental impact.

The detection of reflected GNSS signals can also directly measure soil moisture. This technique, called GNSS-R, can be used in all terrains to map soil humidity and optimise water resource management. It can also be used to monitor vulnerable wetlands for conservation purposes or flooded areas during an emergency.

Read more: GSA-funded GNSS-R project Mistrale

The ability to predict landslides and implement early interventions is critical when it comes to saving human lives and reducing damage. The sister EU programmes offer joint solutions for monitoring land movements: EGNSS provides highly accurate horizontal displacements, while Copernicus’s In-SAR data detects vertical displacements. This data can be used to formulate early warnings and to support timely interventions.

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).

With the 2018 edition of the European Union’s annual Green Week taking place across Europe from 21 to 25 May it is timely to consider the contributions that the European GNSS (EGNSS) – EGNOS and Galileo - are making to improving and protecting our environment.

The 2018 Green Week takes as its main theme ‘Green Cities for a Greener Future’ and will be exploring the ways in which the EU is helping cities to become better places to live and work. To be a Green City an urban area must be a Smart City: a city with smart mobility and connected services.

Mobility is an important part of everyone's daily lives. EGNSS, including EGNOS, is making life on the road easier by significantly reducing congestion and, consequently, reducing greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO2). EGNOS and Galileo are helping urban authorities to improve the efficiency of road transportation through navigation, fleet management opportunities and satellite road traffic monitoring.

Read this: Galileo: a critical component for autonomous driving

Location, location, location

The enhanced positioning capabilities of EGNSS is a key element in the safe and sustainable development of autonomous vehicles. These vehicles, ranging from passenger carriers to drone parcel delivery services, will help to further reduce congestion and pollution.

EGNSS technologies and location-based services are now becoming ubiquitous in urban areas. All mass market electronic devices, from smartphones and wearable devices, such as fitness monitors, to traffic lights and other components of the expanding Internet of Things (IoT), now have the capability to broadcast their location. This enables the provision of a new generation of location-based smart services for citizens and corporations that includes health and well-being monitoring and security applications and the control and optimisation of energy systems.

Sustainable development

Globally EGNSS is working with its sister programme Copernicus, Europe’s Earth Observation programme, to help the world meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that include a range of environmental targets.

The combination of Galileo’s high accuracy positioning and navigation with Copernicus’ services and analysis is increasingly creating opportunities in nearly every market segment. From providing the maps needed for finding the best locations for renewable energy infrastructure to outlining the most fuel-efficient flight paths, optimising road transportation routes and monitoring CO2 emissions, applications using both EGNSS and Earth Observation are providing answers to environmental issues.

A recent study, “EGNSS and COPERNICUS: Supporting the Sustainable Development Goals. Building blocks towards the 2030 Agenda”, showed how EU space technologies support the fulfilment of the UN SDGs. The analysis shows that all the SDGs are positively impacted by the benefits stemming from the use of EGNSS and Copernicus applications and that almost 40% of the associated indicators directly benefit from using their services, either supporting the monitoring of the status of achievement of a given SDG or actively contributing to their fulfilment.

Also read: Boosting EGNOS for better precision farming

Escape to the country

Closer to home, today, some 72% of European Precision Agriculture farmers rely on EGNOS to enhance precision agriculture: a solution for higher productivity and farm profitability. The main EGNSS application for precision agriculture is tractor guidance and automated tractor steering. Combined with Earth Observation data this allows, for example, highly efficient and reduced distribution of chemical fertilizer reducing environmental impact.

The detection of reflected GNSS signals can also directly measure soil moisture. This technique, called GNSS-R, can be used in all terrains to map soil humidity and optimise water resource management. It can also be used to monitor vulnerable wetlands for conservation purposes or flooded areas during an emergency.

Read more: GSA-funded GNSS-R project Mistrale

The ability to predict landslides and implement early interventions is critical when it comes to saving human lives and reducing damage. The sister EU programmes offer joint solutions for monitoring land movements: EGNSS provides highly accurate horizontal displacements, while Copernicus’s In-SAR data detects vertical displacements. This data can be used to formulate early warnings and to support timely interventions.

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).

With the 2018 edition of the European Union’s annual Green Week taking place across Europe from 21 to 25 May it is timely to consider the contributions that the European GNSS (EGNSS) – EGNOS and Galileo - are making to improving and protecting our environment.

The 2018 Green Week takes as its main theme ‘Green Cities for a Greener Future’ and will be exploring the ways in which the EU is helping cities to become better places to live and work. To be a Green City an urban area must be a Smart City: a city with smart mobility and connected services.

Mobility is an important part of everyone's daily lives. EGNSS, including EGNOS, is making life on the road easier by significantly reducing congestion and, consequently, reducing greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO2). EGNOS and Galileo are helping urban authorities to improve the efficiency of road transportation through navigation, fleet management opportunities and satellite road traffic monitoring.

Read this: Galileo: a critical component for autonomous driving

Location, location, location

The enhanced positioning capabilities of EGNSS is a key element in the safe and sustainable development of autonomous vehicles. These vehicles, ranging from passenger carriers to drone parcel delivery services, will help to further reduce congestion and pollution.

EGNSS technologies and location-based services are now becoming ubiquitous in urban areas. All mass market electronic devices, from smartphones and wearable devices, such as fitness monitors, to traffic lights and other components of the expanding Internet of Things (IoT), now have the capability to broadcast their location. This enables the provision of a new generation of location-based smart services for citizens and corporations that includes health and well-being monitoring and security applications and the control and optimisation of energy systems.

Sustainable development

Globally EGNSS is working with its sister programme Copernicus, Europe’s Earth Observation programme, to help the world meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that include a range of environmental targets.

The combination of Galileo’s high accuracy positioning and navigation with Copernicus’ services and analysis is increasingly creating opportunities in nearly every market segment. From providing the maps needed for finding the best locations for renewable energy infrastructure to outlining the most fuel-efficient flight paths, optimising road transportation routes and monitoring CO2 emissions, applications using both EGNSS and Earth Observation are providing answers to environmental issues.

A recent study, “EGNSS and COPERNICUS: Supporting the Sustainable Development Goals. Building blocks towards the 2030 Agenda”, showed how EU space technologies support the fulfilment of the UN SDGs. The analysis shows that all the SDGs are positively impacted by the benefits stemming from the use of EGNSS and Copernicus applications and that almost 40% of the associated indicators directly benefit from using their services, either supporting the monitoring of the status of achievement of a given SDG or actively contributing to their fulfilment.

Also read: Boosting EGNOS for better precision farming

Escape to the country

Closer to home, today, some 72% of European Precision Agriculture farmers rely on EGNOS to enhance precision agriculture: a solution for higher productivity and farm profitability. The main EGNSS application for precision agriculture is tractor guidance and automated tractor steering. Combined with Earth Observation data this allows, for example, highly efficient and reduced distribution of chemical fertilizer reducing environmental impact.

The detection of reflected GNSS signals can also directly measure soil moisture. This technique, called GNSS-R, can be used in all terrains to map soil humidity and optimise water resource management. It can also be used to monitor vulnerable wetlands for conservation purposes or flooded areas during an emergency.

Read more: GSA-funded GNSS-R project Mistrale

The ability to predict landslides and implement early interventions is critical when it comes to saving human lives and reducing damage. The sister EU programmes offer joint solutions for monitoring land movements: EGNSS provides highly accurate horizontal displacements, while Copernicus’s In-SAR data detects vertical displacements. This data can be used to formulate early warnings and to support timely interventions.

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).

Národná rada SR dňa 18.10.2017 schválila novelu zákona o nájme poľnohospodárskych pozemkov, poľnohospodárskeho podniku a lesných pozemkov, ktorá nadobúda účinnosť od 1.5.2018

Organizers launched the 2018 edition of the European Satellite Navigation Competition, known as the ‘Galileo Masters’, on 16 May at the GSA's new Galileo Reference Centre in Noordwijk, highlighting the long-standing partnership between the GSA and the Competition.

The race is on to come up with 2018's most innovative and marketable European GNSS (EGNSS) applications. For the European GNSS Agency (GSA), the European Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC) represents an important means for scouting new downstream business ideas that harness satellite navigation. As such, it is directly in line with one of the Agency's key objectives– to help foster the best use and widest uptake of EGNSS.

The ESNC launch took place in conjunction with the inauguration of the GSA's new Galileo Reference Centre (GRC) in Noordwijk. Carlo des Dorides, Executive Director of the GSA said: “The European Satellite Navigation Competition is a unique platform for promoting Galileo and EGNOS. It is an innovation competition providing a gateway to a wide range of useful business applications based on European GNSS. This is why the GSA is a proud partner and has been hosting its own special ESNC challenge since 2008.”

Over the past ten years, he said, the GSA has received more than 800 proposals, with full business cases, in response to its ESNC challenge, and it has awarded prizes on topics including E-mobility, augmented reality (AR), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), the internet of things (IoT) and others.

This year, the GSA will award three prizes addressing the topic 'When and Where? – Exact timing and positioning matters', with special consideration being given to proposals that leverage EGNSS differentiators, such as:

• Multiple frequencies E1, E5 and E6
• Galileo-specific signal modulation, e.g. AltBOC
• Galileo Search and Rescue Service
• High-precision and authentication services that will be provided by Galileo, i.e. within the Commercial Service and within the Open Service authentication (OS NMA)

Cash prizes of €3000, €5000 and €7000 will be awarded to the top three proposals. In addition, the first prize winner will benefit from extensive promotion through GSA marketing channels and at relevant industry events and, if eligible, will receive tailored EGNSS Accelerator business support worth €62,000.

Lending some perspective

Thorsten Rudolph is Managing Director of Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen (AZO), co-founder of the ESNC along with the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) and the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Media. He said: "While the GSA has been with us as a key sponsor for a decade, the ESNC Galileo Masters is actually celebrating its 15th year." Over this time, he said, more than 11,500 individuals have participated in the Competition, and it has provided a total of €11 million to fund real, down-to-earth start-ups, products and services.

"As a matter of fact," Rudolph said, "the Director of this beautiful new GRC, Peter Buist, himself won the ESNC South Holland Challenge in 2011, and when we see where he is today I think we can consider this a real ESNC success story!"

Rudolph recalled the early years of the Competition: "When we started, most of today's satellite navigation apps were not yet invented. And since then the number of new companies, business cases and applications has constantly increased and has led to a boom in the consumer market."

More recently, he said, the launch of Galileo Initial Services in 2016, the sale of millions of Galileo compatible devices in 2017, and the fact that 95% of chipsets now on the market are Galileo compatible, all of this is triggering a new wave of more precise navigation services for the masses. "And this is a perfect situation for the European industries to increase their market share," he concluded.

For more details on this year's GSA challenge and the prizes, see www.esnc.eu/prize/gsa-2018.

For more about the European Satellite Navigation Competition, see www.esnc.eu.

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).

Organizers launched the 2018 edition of the European Satellite Navigation Competition, known as the ‘Galileo Masters’, on 16 May at the GSA's new Galileo Reference Centre in Noordwijk, highlighting the long-standing partnership between the GSA and the Competition.

The race is on to come up with 2018's most innovative and marketable European GNSS (EGNSS) applications. For the European GNSS Agency (GSA), the European Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC) represents an important means for scouting new downstream business ideas that harness satellite navigation. As such, it is directly in line with one of the Agency's key objectives– to help foster the best use and widest uptake of EGNSS.

The ESNC launch took place in conjunction with the inauguration of the GSA's new Galileo Reference Centre (GRC) in Noordwijk. Carlo des Dorides, Executive Director of the GSA said: “The European Satellite Navigation Competition is a unique platform for promoting Galileo and EGNOS. It is an innovation competition providing a gateway to a wide range of useful business applications based on European GNSS. This is why the GSA is a proud partner and has been hosting its own special ESNC challenge since 2008.”

Over the past ten years, he said, the GSA has received more than 800 proposals, with full business cases, in response to its ESNC challenge, and it has awarded prizes on topics including E-mobility, augmented reality (AR), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), the internet of things (IoT) and others.

This year, the GSA will award three prizes addressing the topic 'When and Where? – Exact timing and positioning matters', with special consideration being given to proposals that leverage EGNSS differentiators, such as:

• Multiple frequencies E1, E5 and E6
• Galileo-specific signal modulation, e.g. AltBOC
• Galileo Search and Rescue Service
• High-precision and authentication services that will be provided by Galileo, i.e. within the Commercial Service and within the Open Service authentication (OS NMA)

Cash prizes of €3000, €5000 and €7000 will be awarded to the top three proposals. In addition, the first prize winner will benefit from extensive promotion through GSA marketing channels and at relevant industry events and, if eligible, will receive tailored EGNSS Accelerator business support worth €62,000.

Lending some perspective

Thorsten Rudolph is Managing Director of Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen (AZO), co-founder of the ESNC along with the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) and the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Media. He said: "While the GSA has been with us as a key sponsor for a decade, the ESNC Galileo Masters is actually celebrating its 15th year." Over this time, he said, more than 11,500 individuals have participated in the Competition, and it has provided a total of €11 million to fund real, down-to-earth start-ups, products and services.

"As a matter of fact," Rudolph said, "the Director of this beautiful new GRC, Peter Buist, himself won the ESNC South Holland Challenge in 2011, and when we see where he is today I think we can consider this a real ESNC success story!"

Rudolph recalled the early years of the Competition: "When we started, most of today's satellite navigation apps were not yet invented. And since then the number of new companies, business cases and applications has constantly increased and has led to a boom in the consumer market."

More recently, he said, the launch of Galileo Initial Services in 2016, the sale of millions of Galileo compatible devices in 2017, and the fact that 95% of chipsets now on the market are Galileo compatible, all of this is triggering a new wave of more precise navigation services for the masses. "And this is a perfect situation for the European industries to increase their market share," he concluded.

For more details on this year's GSA challenge and the prizes, see www.esnc.eu/prize/gsa-2018.

For more about the European Satellite Navigation Competition, see www.esnc.eu.

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).

Organizers launched the 2018 edition of the European Satellite Navigation Competition, known as the ‘Galileo Masters’, on 16 May at the GSA's new Galileo Reference Centre in Noordwijk, highlighting the long-standing partnership between the GSA and the Competition.

The race is on to come up with 2018's most innovative and marketable European GNSS (EGNSS) applications. For the European GNSS Agency (GSA), the European Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC) represents an important means for scouting new downstream business ideas that harness satellite navigation. As such, it is directly in line with one of the Agency's key objectives– to help foster the best use and widest uptake of EGNSS.

The ESNC launch took place in conjunction with the inauguration of the GSA's new Galileo Reference Centre (GRC) in Noordwijk. Carlo des Dorides, Executive Director of the GSA said: “The European Satellite Navigation Competition is a unique platform for promoting Galileo and EGNOS. It is an innovation competition providing a gateway to a wide range of useful business applications based on European GNSS. This is why the GSA is a proud partner and has been hosting its own special ESNC challenge since 2008.”

Over the past ten years, he said, the GSA has received more than 800 proposals, with full business cases, in response to its ESNC challenge, and it has awarded prizes on topics including E-mobility, augmented reality (AR), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), the internet of things (IoT) and others.

This year, the GSA will award three prizes addressing the topic 'When and Where? – Exact timing and positioning matters', with special consideration being given to proposals that leverage EGNSS differentiators, such as:

• Multiple frequencies E1, E5 and E6
• Galileo-specific signal modulation, e.g. AltBOC
• Galileo Search and Rescue Service
• High-precision and authentication services that will be provided by Galileo, i.e. within the Commercial Service and within the Open Service authentication (OS NMA)

Cash prizes of €3000, €5000 and €7000 will be awarded to the top three proposals. In addition, the first prize winner will benefit from extensive promotion through GSA marketing channels and at relevant industry events and, if eligible, will receive tailored EGNSS Accelerator business support worth €62,000.

Lending some perspective

Thorsten Rudolph is Managing Director of Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen (AZO), co-founder of the ESNC along with the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) and the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Media. He said: "While the GSA has been with us as a key sponsor for a decade, the ESNC Galileo Masters is actually celebrating its 15th year." Over this time, he said, more than 11,500 individuals have participated in the Competition, and it has provided a total of €11 million to fund real, down-to-earth start-ups, products and services.

"As a matter of fact," Rudolph said, "the Director of this beautiful new GRC, Peter Buist, himself won the ESNC South Holland Challenge in 2011, and when we see where he is today I think we can consider this a real ESNC success story!"

Rudolph recalled the early years of the Competition: "When we started, most of today's satellite navigation apps were not yet invented. And since then the number of new companies, business cases and applications has constantly increased and has led to a boom in the consumer market."

More recently, he said, the launch of Galileo Initial Services in 2016, the sale of millions of Galileo compatible devices in 2017, and the fact that 95% of chipsets now on the market are Galileo compatible, all of this is triggering a new wave of more precise navigation services for the masses. "And this is a perfect situation for the European industries to increase their market share," he concluded.

For more details on this year's GSA challenge and the prizes, see www.esnc.eu/prize/gsa-2018.

For more about the European Satellite Navigation Competition, see www.esnc.eu.

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 European GNSS Agency (GSA) congratulates Bruno Vermeire on his appointment as the new EU GNSS Security Accreditation Board (SAB) chair and thanks outgoing chair Jeremy Blyth for his dedicated service. The SAB chairperson is responsible for representing the GSA on security accreditation matters.

In taking up his position, the newly appointed SAB chair Bruno Vermeire, who is currently Head of Information Security at the National Security Authority Belgium, highlighted the complexity of security accreditation for the European space programmes. “Security accreditation of EGNOS and Galileo is a very complex exercise. It is an honour that the EU Member States have placed their confidence in me as their Chairman. I will work very hard with my colleagues on the accreditation board and the programme to accommodate the security requirements in this magnificent European programme to the best extent possible,” he said.

Outgoing chair Jeremy Blyth highlighted that, during his four-year term, the SAB had jointly made some important and challenging decisions that have enabled the flagship Galileo programme to progress and deliver the services that European citizens deserve, in a secure manner.

“It has been an honour and a privilege to have had the confidence and friendship of my EU Member State colleagues during my mandate as their Chairman of the EU GNSS Security Accreditation Board,” he said, adding: “In Bruno Vermeire, I know my colleagues in the SAB have chosen a dedicated professional and a leader who will enable. I wish you all, and the programme, the very best for the future.”

The outgoing and incoming EU GNSS SAB Chairs Jeremy Blyth and Bruno Vermeire

GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides expressed his gratitude to the outgoing SAB chairman: “I would like to thank Jeremy Blyth for his great work over the four years of his mandate. He has guided SAB with his many sound and balanced decisions and has made a valuable contribution to the Galileo programme.”

Core activity

Security is one of the core activities entrusted to the GSA by the European Commission. The Agency is responsible for the security accreditation of the European GNSS systems and is charged with verifying compliance with the applicable security rules and regulations established by the Council and the European Commission.

To meet this obligation, an independent Security Accreditation Board (SAB) was set up as one of the three official bodies of the GSA, together with the Administration Board and the Executive Director. The SAB is the sole Security Accreditation Authority of the European GNSS systems and acts independently of the authorities in charge of the programmes, notably the European Commission, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the rest of the GSA.

The SAB is composed of one representative per Member State, one representative from the Commission and one from the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. A representative of the ESA is also invited to attend SAB meetings as an observer. In specific situations, representatives of third countries or international organisations may also be invited to attend meetings as observers.

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 European GNSS Agency (GSA) congratulates Bruno Vermeire on his appointment as the new EU GNSS Security Accreditation Board (SAB) chair and thanks outgoing chair Jeremy Blyth for his dedicated service. The SAB chairperson is responsible for representing the GSA on security accreditation matters.

In taking up his position, the newly appointed SAB chair Bruno Vermeire, who is currently Head of Information Security at the National Security Authority Belgium, highlighted the complexity of security accreditation for the European space programmes. “Security accreditation of EGNOS and Galileo is a very complex exercise. It is an honour that the EU Member States have placed their confidence in me as their Chairman. I will work very hard with my colleagues on the accreditation board and the programme to accommodate the security requirements in this magnificent European programme to the best extent possible,” he said.

Outgoing chair Jeremy Blyth highlighted that, during his four-year term, the SAB had jointly made some important and challenging decisions that have enabled the flagship Galileo programme to progress and deliver the services that European citizens deserve, in a secure manner.

“It has been an honour and a privilege to have had the confidence and friendship of my EU Member State colleagues during my mandate as their Chairman of the EU GNSS Security Accreditation Board,” he said, adding: “In Bruno Vermeire, I know my colleagues in the SAB have chosen a dedicated professional and a leader who will enable. I wish you all, and the programme, the very best for the future.”

The outgoing and incoming EU GNSS SAB Chairs Jeremy Blyth and Bruno Vermeire

GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides expressed his gratitude to the outgoing SAB chairman: “I would like to thank Jeremy Blyth for his great work over the four years of his mandate. He has guided SAB with his many sound and balanced decisions and has made a valuable contribution to the Galileo programme.”

Core activity

Security is one of the core activities entrusted to the GSA by the European Commission. The Agency is responsible for the security accreditation of the European GNSS systems and is charged with verifying compliance with the applicable security rules and regulations established by the Council and the European Commission.

To meet this obligation, an independent Security Accreditation Board (SAB) was set up as one of the three official bodies of the GSA, together with the Administration Board and the Executive Director. The SAB is the sole Security Accreditation Authority of the European GNSS systems and acts independently of the authorities in charge of the programmes, notably the European Commission, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the rest of the GSA.

The SAB is composed of one representative per Member State, one representative from the Commission and one from the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. A representative of the ESA is also invited to attend SAB meetings as an observer. In specific situations, representatives of third countries or international organisations may also be invited to attend meetings as observers.

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 European GNSS Agency (GSA) congratulates Bruno Vermeire on his appointment as the new EU GNSS Security Accreditation Board (SAB) chair and thanks outgoing chair Jeremy Blyth for his dedicated service. The SAB chairperson is responsible for representing the GSA on security accreditation matters.

In taking up his position, the newly appointed SAB chair Bruno Vermeire, who is currently Head of Information Security at the National Security Authority Belgium, highlighted the complexity of security accreditation for the European space programmes. “Security accreditation of EGNOS and Galileo is a very complex exercise. It is an honour that the EU Member States have placed their confidence in me as their Chairman. I will work very hard with my colleagues on the accreditation board and the programme to accommodate the security requirements in this magnificent European programme to the best extent possible,” he said.

Outgoing chair Jeremy Blyth highlighted that, during his four-year term, the SAB had jointly made some important and challenging decisions that have enabled the flagship Galileo programme to progress and deliver the services that European citizens deserve, in a secure manner.

“It has been an honour and a privilege to have had the confidence and friendship of my EU Member State colleagues during my mandate as their Chairman of the EU GNSS Security Accreditation Board,” he said, adding: “In Bruno Vermeire, I know my colleagues in the SAB have chosen a dedicated professional and a leader who will enable. I wish you all, and the programme, the very best for the future.”

The outgoing and incoming EU GNSS SAB Chairs Jeremy Blyth and Bruno Vermeire

GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides expressed his gratitude to the outgoing SAB chairman: “I would like to thank Jeremy Blyth for his great work over the four years of his mandate. He has guided SAB with his many sound and balanced decisions and has made a valuable contribution to the Galileo programme.”

Core activity

Security is one of the core activities entrusted to the GSA by the European Commission. The Agency is responsible for the security accreditation of the European GNSS systems and is charged with verifying compliance with the applicable security rules and regulations established by the Council and the European Commission.

To meet this obligation, an independent Security Accreditation Board (SAB) was set up as one of the three official bodies of the GSA, together with the Administration Board and the Executive Director. The SAB is the sole Security Accreditation Authority of the European GNSS systems and acts independently of the authorities in charge of the programmes, notably the European Commission, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the rest of the GSA.

The SAB is composed of one representative per Member State, one representative from the Commission and one from the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. A representative of the ESA is also invited to attend SAB meetings as an observer. In specific situations, representatives of third countries or international organisations may also be invited to attend meetings as observers.

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, 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).