EU Heads of state and government to decide the future of Galileo
The business is as slow and laborious as it gets: Politicians and members of the industry have meanwhile clocked up five years of delay when it comes to the creation of the planned European satellite-based navigation system Galileo. While the original plans had called for a commercially viable rival to the United States monopoly to be up and running by 2008, the present plans indicate that a complete system will not be able to commence operations until 2013 at the earliest. A delay that Russia will undoubtedly use to upgrade and expand its own GLONASS (Globalnaya Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema [Global Navigation Satellite System]) system – hitherto used for military purposes only – to meet the requirements of the booming navigation market. Moscow intends to increase the number of its Uragan satellites, which circle the earth in three orbital planes at a distance of 19,100 kilometers, to 24 – a number that would permit global use of Russian navigation services. For their part the US have meanwhile begun to beat the drum for their new GPS III system, which will feature two additional civilian signals and do without Selective Availability (SA), which artificially distorts the satellite signals. The new technology is meant to replace the minimum set of 24 active GPS satellites (the current total is 31) and the earth stations by 2014 at the latest.
In Europe those in charge have for years now been bickering over money, powers and responsibilities – with the result that only one Galileo test satellite, Giove-A, has so far been launched into space. Enough to prevent the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) from taking back the radio frequencies reserved for the Galileo system. The repeatedly delayed launch of a second Galileo test satellite is now scheduled to take place in March 2008 -- provided the project hasn't collapsed completely by then.
Note EU-Digest: The EU should not fall asleep on the Galileo project. Insiders are aware that the US has used considerable political pressure on the EU not to develop its own spacial navigational system, but it is essential Europe gets the Galileo project underway if it doesn't want to become dependent for their navigational security on the Americans or the Russians.
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