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Galileo is a planned Global Navigation Satellite System, being built by the European Union (EU) and European Space Agency (ESA). The €3.4 billion project is an alternative and complementary to the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) and the Russian GLONASS. On November 30 2007 the 27 EU transportation ministers involved reached an agreement that it should be operational by 2013.BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | \'Unanimous backing\' for Galileo
When in operation, it will have two ground operations centers, one near Munich, Germany, and another in Fucino, 130km east of Rome, Italy.http://www.physorg.com/news115630526.html Since 18 May, 2007, at the recommendation of Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot, the EU took direct control of the Galileo project from the private sector group of eight companies called European Satellite Navigation Industries, which had abandoned this Galileo project in early 2007.
Galileo is intended to provide: more precise measurements to all users than available through GPS or GLONASS, better positioning services at high latitudes, and an independent positioning system upon which European nations can rely even in times of war or political disagreement. Named for the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, the positioning system is referred to as "Galileo" instead of by the abbreviation "GPS" to distinguish it from the U.S. system.
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The first stage of the Galileo programme was agreed upon officially on May 26, 2003 by the European Union and the European Space Agency. In 1999, the different concepts (from Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom) for Galileo were compared and reduced to one by a joint team of engineers from all four countries. The system is intended primarily for civilian use, unlike the United States system, which the U.S. military runs and uses on a primary basis. The U.S. reserves the right to limit the signal strength or accuracy of the GPS systems, or to shut down public GPS access completely (although it has never done the latter), so that only the U.S. military and its allies would be able to use it in time of conflict. Until 2000, the precision of the signal available to non-U.S.-military users was limited (due to a timing pulse distortion process known as selective availability). The European system will only be subject to shutdown for military purposes in extreme circumstances (though it may still be jammed by anyone with the right equipment).[citation needed] It will be available at its full precision to both civil and military users.
The European Commission had some difficulty getting money for the project\'s next stage, as economic difficulty was threatening national budgets across Europe. Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the United States Government wrote to the European Union opposing the project, arguing that it would end the ability of the United States to shut down GPS in times of military operations. On January 17, 2002 a spokesman for the project somberly stated that, as a result of U.S. pressure and economic difficulties, "Galileo is almost dead." http://www.guardian.co.uk A few months later, however, the situation changed dramatically. Partially in reaction to the pressure exerted by the U.S. Government, European Union member states decided it was important to have their own independent satellite-based positioning and timing infrastructure.[citation needed]
The European Union and the European Space Agency agreed in March 2002 to fund the project, pending a review in 2003 (which was finalised on May 26, 2003). The starting cost for the period ending in 2005 is estimated at €1.1 billion. The required satellites—the planned number is 30 — will be launched throughout the period 2006–2010 and the system will be up and running and under civilian control from 2010. The final cost is estimated at €3 billion, including the infrastructure on Earth, which is to be constructed in the years 2006 and 2007. The plan was for private companies and investors to invest at least two-thirds of the cost of implementation, with the EU and ESA dividing the remaining cost. An encrypted higher-bandwidth Commercial Service with improved accuracy would be available at an extra cost, with the base Open Service freely available to anyone with a Galileo-compatible receiver.
In June 2004, in a signed agreement with the United States, the European Union agreed to switch to a range of frequencies known as "Binary Offset Carrier 1.1," allowing both EU and US forces to block each other\'s signals in the battlefield without disabling the entire system. The European Union also agreed to address the "mutual concerns related to the protection of allied and U.S. national security capabilities."US-EU Agreement on Galileo
Early 2007, the EU had yet to decide how to pay for the system and the project was said to be "in deep crisis" due to lack of more public funds.http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/05/08/galileo.troubles.ap/index.html EU: Galileo project in deep \'crisis\' German Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee, was particularly doubtful about the consortium\'s ability to end the infighting at a time when only one of the 30 planned satellites had been successfully launched.
Although a decision was yet to be reached, EU countries on Friday the 13th of July 2007 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19750947/ discussed cutting €548m ($755m, £370m) from the union\'s competitiveness budget for next year and shift some of that cash to other parts of the financing pot, a move that could meet part of the cost of the union\'s Galileo satellite navigation system. European Union research and development projects could be scrapped to overcome a funding shortfall for Europe\'s rival to the US GPS.
In November 2007, it was agreed to reallocate funds from the EU\'s agriculture and administration budgetsEU agrees 2008 budget to include Galileo financing — EUbusiness.com - business, legal and financial news and information from the European Union and to soften the tendering process in order to invite more EU companies.BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Galileo \'compromise\' is emerging
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In September 2003, China joined the Galileo project. China will invest €230 million (USD 302 million, GBP 155 million, CNY 2.34 billion) in the project over the next few years.China joins EU\'s satellite network - BBC News, 19 September 2003
In July 2004, Israel signed an agreement with the EU to become a partner in the Galileo project.Press release
On June 3, 2005 the EU and Ukraine signed an agreement for Ukraine to join the project, as noted in a press release.Press release
On September 7, 2005, India signed an agreement to take part in the project and to establish a regional augmentation system based on the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS).
As of November 2005, Morocco and Saudi Arabia have also joined the programme.
On January 12, 2006 South Korea joined the programme.
On November 30, 2007, the 27 member states of the European Union unanimously agreed to move forward with the project, with plans for bases in Germany and Italy. Spain did not approve during the initial vote, but approved it later that day. This greatly improves the viability of the Galileo project: "The EU\'s executive had previously said that if agreement was not reached by January 2008, the long-troubled project would essentially be dead."BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | \'Unanimous backing\' for Galileo
Letter from Paul Wolfowitz to an EU minister, expressing security concerns about Galileo
A reason given for an independent system is that, though GPS is now widely used worldwide for civilian applications, it is a military system which as recently as 2000 had selective availability (SA) that could be enabled in particular areas of coverage during times of war, and therefore Galileo\'s proponents argue that civil infrastructure, including aeroplane navigation and landing, should not rely solely upon GPS.
On May 1, 2000, the President of the United States signed an order disabling SA, and in late 2001, the entity managing GPS confirmed that the intent is to never re-enable selective availability. Selective Availability. Retrieved Aug 31, 2007..
Though Selective Availability still exists, on September 19 2007, the US Department of Defense announced that they would not procure any more satellites capable of implementing Selective Availability.DoD Permanently Discontinues Procurement Of Global Positioning System Selective Availability. DefenseLink (September 18, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-12-17. This means the next wave of Block IIF satellites launching in 2009 will no longer support SA. As older satellites are deorbited and replaced, as part of the GPS Modernization program, SA will cease to exist. The modernization program also contains standardized features that allow GPS III and Galileo systems to inter-operate, allowing a new receiver to utilize both systems to improve accuracy.
There will be four different navigation services available:
In addition, the Galileo satellites will be able to detect and report signals from Cospas-Sarsat search-and-rescue beacons in the 406.0–406.1 MHz band, which makes them a part of the Global Maritime Distress Safety System.
In 2004 the Galileo System Test Bed Version 1 (GSTB-V1) project validated the on-ground algorithms for Orbit Determination and Time Synchronisation (OD&TS). This project, led by ESA and European Satellite Navigation Industries, has provided industry with fundamental knowledge to develop the mission segment of the Galileo positioning system.Galileo System Test Bed Version 1 experimentation is now complete, ESA News release, 7 January 2005
The European Space Agency and the Galileo Joint Undertaking successfully launched the first Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element test satellite, GIOVE-A, on 28 December 2005. GIOVE-A was built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL). Operation of GIOVE-A ensured that Galileo meets the frequency-filing allocation and reservation requirements for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a process that was required to be complete by June of 2006.
GIOVE-B, built by Astrium, has a more advanced payload than GIOVE-A. After technical problems were encountered, GIOVE-B is now targeted for launch in April 2008.GIOVE-A2 to secure the Galileo programme, ESA News release, 5 March 2007
The GIOVE-A2 satellite, to be built by SSTL, will be ready for launch in the second half of 2008, to ensure continuous reservation of Galileo frequency use with the ITU.GIOVE-A2 to secure the Galileo programme, ESA News release, 5 March 2007
These testbed satellites will be followed by four In-Orbit Validation (IOV) Galileo satellites that will be much closer to the final Galileo positioning satellite design.
From mid-2006, the GIOVE MissionGIOVE mission core infrastructure, ESA press release, 26 February 2007.One year of Galileo signals; new website opens, ESA press release, 12 January 2007. (GIOVE-M) segment is exploiting the GIOVE-A satellite to provide experimental results based on real data to be used for risk mitigation for the IOV satellites that will follow on from the testbeds. The GIOVE Mission will also provide experimentation results based on GIOVE-B and GIOVE-A2 satellites. The GIOVE Mission segment is operated by European Satellite Navigation Industries for the European Space Agency (ESA).
The next scheduled launch time for one of the test satellites is from 29th December 2007 to end of March 2008.
In July 2006, an international consortium of universities and research institutions embarked on a study of potential scientific applications of the Galileo constellation. This project, dubbed GEO6, is a 360-degree study oriented to the scientific community in its broader sense, aiming to define and implement new applications of Galileo.
Among the various GNSS users identified by the Galileo Joint Undertaking, the GEO6 project addresses the Scientific User Community (UC).
The GEO6 project aims at fostering possible novel applications within the scientific UC of GNSS signals, and particularly of Galileo.
On the basis of the potential number of users, potential revenues for Galileo Operating Company or Concessionaire (GOC), international relevance, and level of innovation, a set of Priority Applications (PA) will be selected by the consortium and they will be developed within the time frame of the same Project.
These applications will help to increase and optimise the use of the EGNOS services as well as the opportunities offered by the Galileo Signal Test-Bed (GSTB-V2) and the Galileo (IOV) phase.
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