Galileo, Europe's answer to the US GPS satellite navigation system, is finally set to get off the ground, with the first two operational spacecraft set for launch on 20 October from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
A second pair is set to follow early in 2012, and those four spacecraft could in principle provide a minimal service. But if all goes to plan by the end of 2012, the European Space Agency should be launching two spacecraft each quarter to have an operational constellation of 18 satellites providing navigation services from 2014 - seven years after originally envisaged. The constellation is planned to reach its full complement of 30 spacecraft, including in-orbit spares, for global coverage by 2019.
The project, originally budgeted at €3.4 billion ($4.9 billion) as a public-private partnership, will have by 2013 have cost €4.96 billion - mostly drawn from taxpayer money. Keenly aware of the challenge of sustaining this level of spending, European Commission vice-president for industry and entrepreneurship Antonio Tajani nevertheless has emphasised the importance of Galileo to Europe's economy and society and has promised to work with member states, the space industry and ESA to bring down the budgeted €1.9 billion cost of the 2014-20 push to a full constellation.
Describing the inaugural October launches as of "historical importance", Tajani stressed the need for Europe to match or exceed US capability in a technology that will bring significant safety, operational and economic benefits to European citizens.
"Thousands of small-to-medium enterprises and innovators across Europe will be able to spot business opportunities and to create and develop their products based on the future Galileo infrastructure. Galileo is value for money and I count on member states' co-operation to find a solution for its financing," Tajani said.
Without considering the value of being independent in a technology that is increasingly critical to everything from electricity grid management, shipping and financial transactions to rescue missions and peace-keeping, Tajani believes Galileo - which is fully interoperable with GPS and the Russian Glonass systems - will deliver €60 billion to the European economy over a 20-year period. European Union and national budgets for government-provided services could be cut dramatically.
Critically, said Tajani, Galileo is designed for civilian use and under civilian control, so will not be subject to the interruptions or accuracy-downgrades that can affect services provided by the US-military controlled GPS system.
And, Galileo will ultimately provide better service than GPS at the high latitudes of northern Europe.
The October launch will also mark the first French Guiana flight of a Soyuz rocket. ESA's standard Kourou workhorse, Ariane V, capable of dispensing four Galileo satellites to their 23,600km (14,660 miles) orbits, may be brought into service for the Galileo launch campaign.
Ground infrastructure to support the first four spacecraft is already in place: two control centres (three are needed for the full constellation), five (of nine) mission uplink centres, two (of five) telemetry, tracking and command stations and 17 (of 30-40) sensor stations.
Source: Flight International
