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For the first time, European Union officials presented keynote addresses at the world’s premier space conference as progress of the EU’s flagship space programmes – Galileo, EGNOS and Copernicus – puts the EU firmly in the club of global space service providers.

The premier space event in the world was held last week and, for the first time, the European Union (EU) Space Programmes were an important part of the agenda. Held in Colorado Springs, U.S.A. (3-6 April), the four-day space conference featured more than 10,000 attendees, 180 exhibitors and space, government and defence officials from more than 30 countries. In addition to EU member states, notable countries outside of the United States attending the international event included China, Russia, South Korea and Japan.

On behalf of the EU, the European Commission and the European GNSS Agency (GSA) took centre stage to communicate the progress and next steps of Galileo, EGNOS and Copernicus. In addition to notable presence throughout the speaker agenda, the EU was represented at the Symposium with an exhibition stand where it hosted a well-attended ‘meet and greet reception’ on 4 April. EU Commissioner responsible for space, Elżbieta Bieńkowska, was present to officially welcome the many visitors.

The European Union: a new strong player in the global space club

On Wednesday morning, 5 April, EU Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Elżbieta Bieńkowska, become the first European Commissioner to address the Space Symposium. In her remarks, Bieńkowska declared that space matters for Europe, as it is now the second space power in the world.

“We are delivering on clear priorities,” said Bieńkowska. “Galileo went live last December and Europe has now joined the club of providers of global navigation services. In 2016, we launched six Galileo satellites that built on the six the year before. Today, 17 leading chipset companies that represent more than the 95% of global supply produce Galileo-compatible products. We are ready to grasp the full opportunity of space, not only for economic returns, but also for a better world.”

An open house ‘meet-and-greet’ reception at the EU Space Programmes exhibition stand reinforced the message that Galileo, EGNOS and Copernicus are operational and open for business. 

A Space Strategy for Europe

Bieńkowska noted that Galileo’s significant 2016 milestones were a turning point toward its full operational status by 2020 – making now the right time to launch a Space Strategy for Europe. “First, we want to maximise the benefit of space for our society and the economy, by creating a dynamic and attractive market for space base applications and services,” she said. “Second, we want to foster a competitive and innovative European space sector, a ‘European new space’ approach. We want to embrace a new way of thinking, technological innovation and promote the emergence of dynamic European eco-systems of space start-ups. And third, we, for the first time recognise that space is a strategic asset and a central element of Europe's strategic autonomy. Europe must ensure its own security.”

In support of the Space Strategy for Europe, Bieńkowska announced that 350 million euro will be invested over two years in R&D projects that contribute to developing Europe's excellence and expertise.

Galileo: Helping to save lives

As one of four panellists invited to discuss maritime domain awareness on 6 April, European Commission Galileo Program Director, Matthias Petschke conveyed both the technological progress and subsequent human life benefits surrounding Galileo’s search and rescue service (SAR). SAR comprises two components: an automatic forward link distress alert, plus a unique return link alert (available end of 2018) that informs the sender that their message has been received.

European Commission Galileo Program Director, Matthias Petschke reviewed how the Galileo Search and Rescue service (SAR) is saving lives and making maritime search and rescue operations more efficient. 

“The increased positioning accuracy provided by Galileo has reduced the time it takes to detect a person lost at sea or in the mountains from three hours to just 10 minutes after the distress beacon is activated. Meanwhile, localisation of the distress beacon has improved from 10 km to less than 5 km,” said Petschke. “The net result of the SAR improvements is that more lives are saved and it’s making  search and rescue operations more efficient for emergency responders thanks to the reduced time to acquire a signal.”

In addition to Bieńkowska and Petschke, on 4 April, GSA Executive Director, Carlo des Dorides presented a Tech Track keynote address on the latest technology trends effecting the use global navigation satellite system information. European Commission (DG GROW) Deputy Director General, Pierre Delsaux also provided the closing keynote address on 3 April, at the Space Generation – Fusion Forum, a two-day event held just prior to the Space Symposium that offered university students and young space professionals the opportunity to engage and learn from today's industry leaders.

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 recent influx of new public and private players into the operational space arena, including Europe’s own Galileo, young space professionals review the economic, policy and technology innovation possibilities that space is enabling for the future.  

“Embrace collaboration within the growing space community”. That was the underlying theme at the 7th Space Generation Fusion Forum (SGFF), a two-day event held April 1-2, just prior to the 33rd Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, U.S.A. (April 3-6).

Each year SGFF selects an international group of approximately 50 top university students and young professionals to give them the opportunity to engage and learn from today's global space leaders.  The event is held by the Space Generation Advisory Council in support of the United Nations Programme on Space Applications.

Carlo des Dorides, Executive Director of the GSA, was among the key note speakers and moderated the ‘Space for Earth’ focus session. In his remarks, des Dorides provided an overview of Europe’s GNSS programmes and explained how the new accuracy and availability society is gaining from a multi-GNSS world will power a whole new generation of innovative applications and services.

“Entering space is quite recent history for the EU, less than 15 years, but it is already enabling unprecedented business opportunities for Europe because GNSS plays an increasing role in our daily life,” said des Dorides. “By 2020 there will be one GNSS device for every person on the planet and the expanded positioning, navigation and timing capabilities have untold business applications, especially within four major macro trends: the internet of things, smart cities, multimodal logistics and big data.”

Citing a few application examples of connected cars, smart suitcases and real estate sites that offer virtual reality tour capabilities, des Dorides concluded by encouraging the young professionals to perceive space not as its own system, but rather a contributor to a larger system of systems. “Space is a fascinating journey that touches Earth everywhere you look. By 2020, there will be 50 billion objects connected through the internet of things. Of these objects, 90% will use positioning information, and 50% of those objects will get it from GNSS.”

Collaboration – the Only Solution for the Future

The SGFF agenda also touched on the policy gaps that have emerged with new commercial and government space players. Guest speakers, organisers and participants alike questioned how best to balance the public good and minimize security risks, while protecting the commercial and economic incentives to create more innovation. All had a similar solution: International collaboration is the only solution for the future.

In his conference remarks, U.S. Congressman Jim Bridenstine echoed that sentiment as he noted the welcome addition of Galileo’s capabilities to the global satellite infrastructure.

“Timing and positioning information from GNSS make it as important to our way of life as the electrical power grid,” said Bridenstine. “There are strategic risks to our satellite systems and we need to make sure that GPS, Galileo and Glonass signals provide back up to one another. It is important in this new paradigm that we engage with the world and institutionalise global cooperation.”

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 recent influx of new public and private players into the operational space arena, including Europe’s own Galileo, young space professionals review the economic, policy and technology innovation possibilities that space is enabling for the future.  

“Embrace collaboration within the growing space community”. That was the underlying theme at the 7th Space Generation Fusion Forum (SGFF), a two-day event held April 1-2, just prior to the 33rd Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, U.S.A. (April 3-6).

Each year SGFF selects an international group of approximately 50 top university students and young professionals to give them the opportunity to engage and learn from today's global space leaders.  The event is held by the Space Generation Advisory Council in support of the United Nations Programme on Space Applications.

Carlo des Dorides, Executive Director of the GSA, was among the key note speakers and moderated the ‘Space for Earth’ focus session. In his remarks, des Dorides provided an overview of Europe’s GNSS programmes and explained how the new accuracy and availability society is gaining from a multi-GNSS world will power a whole new generation of innovative applications and services.

“Entering space is quite recent history for the EU, less than 15 years, but it is already enabling unprecedented business opportunities for Europe because GNSS plays an increasing role in our daily life,” said des Dorides. “By 2020 there will be one GNSS device for every person on the planet and the expanded positioning, navigation and timing capabilities have untold business applications, especially within four major macro trends: the internet of things, smart cities, multimodal logistics and big data.”

Citing a few application examples of connected cars, smart suitcases and real estate sites that offer virtual reality tour capabilities, des Dorides concluded by encouraging the young professionals to perceive space not as its own system, but rather a contributor to a larger system of systems. “Space is a fascinating journey that touches Earth everywhere you look. By 2020, there will be 50 billion objects connected through the internet of things. Of these objects, 90% will use positioning information, and 50% of those objects will get it from GNSS.”

Collaboration – the Only Solution for the Future

The SGFF agenda also touched on the policy gaps that have emerged with new commercial and government space players. Guest speakers, organisers and participants alike questioned how best to balance the public good and minimize security risks, while protecting the commercial and economic incentives to create more innovation. All had a similar solution: International collaboration is the only solution for the future.

In his conference remarks, U.S. Congressman Jim Bridenstine echoed that sentiment as he noted the welcome addition of Galileo’s capabilities to the global satellite infrastructure.

“Timing and positioning information from GNSS make it as important to our way of life as the electrical power grid,” said Bridenstine. “There are strategic risks to our satellite systems and we need to make sure that GPS, Galileo and Glonass signals provide back up to one another. It is important in this new paradigm that we engage with the world and institutionalise global cooperation.”

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).