zprávy

On December 1 the Galileo Integrated Logistic Support (ILS) Centre, built to the highest environmental standards, was inaugurated at the GALAXIA European Space Applications Park in Transinne, Belgium, in the presence of Belgian Mobility Minister François Bellot.

Galileo’s satellites communicate with 16 ground stations and these, in turn, ensure that the Galileo constellation continues to deliver reliable accurate and secure positioning and timing. To allow these stations operate to the highest standards, they need to have easy access to highly specialised parts that can be rapidly delivered to where they are needed. The Galileo ILS Centre will be the go-to point for those managing ground stations and will be staffed with highly qualified engineers specialised in robotics, aeronautics and IT.

Central location

From its central location in Transinne, the Galileo ILS Centre will support an efficient spare part and repair provisioning service for Galileo ground infrastructure. The Centre will be in charge of guaranteeing the proper spare part stock for corrective and preventive maintenance. It will also reset and update equipment received from the stations, or ship it to the manufacturers for more comprehensive retrofits, should this be necessary.

The Galileo ILS Centre will ensure that Galileo ground stations get all the specialised parts they need, when they need them.

The Galileo ILS Centre is located close to major transport hubs; it is highly secured and can generate most of the electricity it needs to operate. The GSA is in charge of the centre, which is run by the Galileo Service Operator (GSOp) under a EUR 1.5 billion contract signed in December 2016.

Speaking at the launch ceremony, GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides said that the Galileo ILS Centre would allow the GSA, through the Galileo Service Operator and its logistics partner Vitrociset, to efficiently manage material stocks, conduct repairs and support operational requirements. “This is a fundamental component of the Galileo system,” he said.

Bellot said the project was important for Belgium: “Belgium has invested a lot in space technology and Galileo. We have a lot of large companies working in this area. Galileo is a European project par excellence that will provide great added value. I’m thinking, for example, of autonomous vehicles that will need the high precision provided by the Galileo system.”

IDELUX President Elie Deblire, who led the project, outlined the centre’s state-of-the-art features. The building has two separate and independent fibre-optic networks, 3,000 sensors measuring everything from humidity to security, 228 solar panels, as well as five geothermal sources of energy.

Watch this: Galileo Integrated Logistics Support Centre

DG GROW Deputy Director General Pierre Delsaux underlined how important it is to celebrate Europe’s successes. He said that Galileo was a great European project and that “Europe needs great projects”. Delsaux had met with European ministers with responsibility for competitiveness that morning to discuss the EU's space programmes. Estonia Entrepreneurship and Information Technology Minister Urve Palo said after the meeting: "Today we have two EU's space flagship programmes, Galileo and Copernicus, that are delivering significant value to European citizens and to the economy. […] The world has become digital and the EU's space policy is an essential instrument for moving towards a digitalised and data-driven economy in Europe."
The Galileo ILS project is another important part of the flagship programme.

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).

Four new Galileo satellites were successfully launched on December 12 from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. This launch brings the Galileo constellation to a total of 22 satellites.

Taking place on the 1st anniversary of the launch of Galileo Initial Services last December, and a week after the first Galileo User Assembly in Madrid, the successful launch marks the culmination of a milestone year for Galileo and the GSA. The four new satellites will reinforce the provision of Galileo Initial Services, with additional satellites to be launched over the coming years until the constellation reaches full operational capability in 2020.

GSA oversees LEOP

For the first time, the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is responsible for the Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) of this mission, overseeing Spaceopal - a joint venture between Telespazio and DLR-GfR - in their new role as Galileo Service Operator and LEOP Mission Director, and CNES as responsible for LEOP operations and Operations Director.

The LEOP is one of the most important phases of a space mission as it launches the spacecraft, puts it into the correct orbit, and gradually switches on and tests the first satellite elements. For a quadruple Ariane 5 launch such as Galileo Launch 9, this phase will take about 14 days.

Speaking at the launch event, GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides said: “Today’s successful launch is another positive step forward for Galileo and the GSA. The fact that leaders from five of the world’s major chipset and receiver manufacturers attended the launch for the first time is testament to the growing industry support and confidence being placed in Galileo and a realisation of what it has to offer the market.”

Successful teamwork

The LEOP activities were overseen by a team of specialists from the GSA, Spaceopal and the operations team of the French Space Agency (CNES). LEOP operations were conducted from a dedicated control room in the CNES Centre Spatial de Toulouse, from which the team is overseeing all of the main LEOP stages.

”Following a precise injection from Ariane, the early operations phase began as planned. The GSA team, working together with SpaceOpal, CNES, ESA, and its contractors, is responsible for this phase.  Operations will be controlled from Kourou for the next couple weeks, after which command and control will be handed over to the Galileo Control Centres,” explained Rodrigo Da Costa, Galileo Services Programme Manager at the GSA. “It’s great to work with such a competent team of specialists to bring the new satellites into the constellation and deliver services to users worldwide,” he said.

Galileo is Europe’s own global navigation satellite system, providing a highly accurate, guaranteed global positioning service under civilian control. Galileo is interoperable with GPS and Glonass, the US and Russian global satellite navigation systems. By offering dual frequencies as standard, Galileo is set to deliver real-time positioning accuracy down to the meter range.

To keep track of Galileo-enabled devices serving a variety of needs as they become available, check out: USE.GALILEO.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).

Four new Galileo satellites were successfully launched on December 12 from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. This launch brings the Galileo constellation to a total of 22 satellites.

Taking place on the 1st anniversary of the launch of Galileo Initial Services last December, and a week after the first Galileo User Assembly in Madrid, the successful launch marks the culmination of a milestone year for Galileo and the GSA. The four new satellites will reinforce the provision of Galileo Initial Services, with additional satellites to be launched over the coming years until the constellation reaches full operational capability in 2020.

GSA oversees LEOP

For the first time, the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is responsible for the Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) of this mission, overseeing Spaceopal - a joint venture between Telespazio and DLR-GfR - in their new role as Galileo Service Operator and LEOP Mission Director, and CNES as responsible for LEOP operations and Operations Director.

The LEOP is one of the most important phases of a space mission as it launches the spacecraft, puts it into the correct orbit, and gradually switches on and tests the first satellite elements. For a quadruple Ariane 5 launch such as Galileo Launch 9, this phase will take about 14 days.

Speaking at the launch event, GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides said: “Today’s successful launch is another positive step forward for Galileo and the GSA. The fact that leaders from five of the world’s major chipset and receiver manufacturers attended the launch for the first time is testament to the growing industry support and confidence being placed in Galileo and a realisation of what it has to offer the market.”

The GSA-led Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) Team working in Toulouse on 12 December

Successful teamwork

The LEOP activities were overseen by a team of specialists from the GSA, Spaceopal and the operations team of the French Space Agency (CNES). LEOP operations were conducted from a dedicated control room in the CNES Centre Spatial de Toulouse, from which the team is overseeing all of the main LEOP stages.

”Following a precise injection from Ariane, the early operations phase began as planned. The GSA team, working together with SpaceOpal, CNES, ESA, and its contractors, is responsible for this phase.  Operations will be controlled from Kourou for the next couple weeks, after which command and control will be handed over to the Galileo Control Centres,” explained Rodrigo Da Costa, Galileo Services Programme Manager at the GSA. “It’s great to work with such a competent team of specialists to bring the new satellites into the constellation and deliver services to users worldwide,” he said.

Galileo is Europe’s own global navigation satellite system, providing a highly accurate, guaranteed global positioning service under civilian control. Galileo is interoperable with GPS and Glonass, the US and Russian global satellite navigation systems. By offering dual frequencies as standard, Galileo is set to deliver real-time positioning accuracy down to the meter range.

To keep track of Galileo-enabled devices serving a variety of needs as they become available, check out: USE.GALILEO.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).

Four new Galileo satellites were successfully launched on December 12 from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. This launch brings the Galileo constellation to a total of 22 satellites.

Taking place on the 1st anniversary of the launch of Galileo Initial Services last December, and a week after the first Galileo User Assembly in Madrid, the successful launch marks the culmination of a milestone year for Galileo and the GSA. The four new satellites will reinforce the provision of Galileo Initial Services, with additional satellites to be launched over the coming years until the constellation reaches full operational capability in 2020.

GSA oversees LEOP

For the first time, the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is responsible for the Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) of this mission, overseeing Spaceopal - a joint venture between Telespazio and DLR-GfR - in their new role as Galileo Service Operator and LEOP Mission Director, and CNES as responsible for LEOP operations and Operations Director.

Speaking at the launch event, GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides said: “Today’s successful launch is another positive step forward for Galileo and the GSA. The fact that leaders from five of the world’s major chipset and receiver manufacturers attended the launch for the first time is testament to the growing industry support and confidence being placed in Galileo and a realisation of what it has to offer the market.”

The GSA-led Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) Team working in Toulouse on 12 December

Successful teamwork

The LEOP activities were overseen by a team of specialists from the GSA, Spaceopal and the operations team of the French Space Agency (CNES). LEOP operations were conducted from a dedicated control room in the CNES Centre Spatial de Toulouse, from which the team is overseeing all of the main LEOP stages.

”Following a precise injection from Ariane, the early operations phase began as planned. The GSA team, working together with SpaceOpal, CNES, ESA, and its contractors, is responsible for this phase.  Operations will be controlled from Kourou for the next couple weeks, after which command and control will be handed over to the Galileo Control Centres,” explained Rodrigo Da Costa, Galileo Services Programme Manager at the GSA. “It’s great to work with such a competent team of specialists to bring the new satellites into the constellation and deliver services to users worldwide,” he said.

Galileo is Europe’s own global navigation satellite system, providing a highly accurate, guaranteed global positioning service under civilian control. Galileo is interoperable with GPS and Glonass, the US and Russian global satellite navigation systems. By offering dual frequencies as standard, Galileo is set to deliver real-time positioning accuracy down to the meter range.

To keep track of Galileo-enabled devices serving a variety of needs as they become available, check out: USE.GALILEO.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).