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EU reaches agreement on Galileo satellite guidance system |
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Written by Derek Kessler on
Saturday, 01 December 2007
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 After months of haggling the European Union has come to an agreement on how to proceed with the Galileo global navigation satellite system (GNSS) system it comandeered from private sector development in June, though Spain is not entirely satisfied with the solution. The US$5 billion project has been mired in bickering over a number of parts of the project, in particular where the high tech ground control stations would be located.
Spain has long wished for a larger role in the Galileo project and recently demanded that they be granted one of the ground control stations; project managers had only planned on stations in Germany and Italy. The eleventh-hour move threatened to yet again derail the project, which has to date only launched a single satellite. Negotiators met on a compromise that places a secondary ground control station in Spain that can be upgraded later to a full primary station - as long as Spain foots the bill.
The EU also agreed on how to distribute the load of the project's financing and contract distribution. Funds will be collected and allocated based on the proportion of contribution to the EU budget. As Germany pays the largest portion of the budget (and thus the most into Galileo), the country will also recieve the most funding for Galileo-related contracts. The commission also set rules for the distribution of contracts, stating that no one company may be the primary contractor for more than two of the project's six stages.
The planned GNSS, which is projected to be operational by 2013, will by interoperable wil the US built and operated 31-satellite GPS. The additonal 30 satellites Galileo will add to the constellation will more than double coverage and allow for better reception in both dense cities with tall buildings and in the extreme northern and southern latitudes where coverage is often spotty. Galileo will also be up to 25 times more accurate than the US GPS, providing coordinates that are ensured accurate to within one meter. GPS signals are ensured accurate to five meters, though with at least four satellites visible over the horizon at any given point on Earth at all times, it is usually accurate to within half a meter.
Of the $5 billion budget, $1.48 billion has already been spent on development, construction, and the launch of the first satellite in just under two years ago. Of the remaining money, $2.4 billion will be siphoned off of excess agricultrual funds, and the remaining $1.12 billion will be taken from research, transportation, and administrative budgets within the EU structure.
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