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Frequently
asked questions...
...and their answers
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What
is satellite navigation?
Navigation satellites broadcast signals which are used by a
receiver to determine precisely its position, velocity and time.
Satellite navigation systems support an unlimited number of users.
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What
is GALILEO?
GALILEO is a global navigation infrastructure under civil
control. It will consist of 30 satellites, the associated ground
infrastructure and regional/local augmentations.
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Why is
there any need for GALILEO when we already have GPS?
GALILEO
will ensure European economies' from independence from other states’ systems,
which could deny access to civil users at any time, and to enhance
safety and
reliability. The only systems currently in existence are the United
States
Global Positioning Service (GPS) and the Russian GLONASS system, both military but made available to civil users
without any guarantee for continuity.
Important
macro-economic benefits will be derived from GALILEO, in particular
through achieving a
European share in the equipment market, efficiency savings for
industry as well as social benefits e.g. through cheaper transport,
reduced congestion and less pollution.
Above that, with it's open service
at least offering the same performances as GPS by the time of
GALILEO's deployment, GALILEO will offer also value added services with
integrity provision and, in some cases, service guarantees, based on a certifiable
system.
See also: The future of
GNSS
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Why
should I pay for GALILEO, when GPS is free?
Like GPS, GALILEO will be free of charge to basic users (open
service).
Some applications will have to be paid for - those requiring a
quality of service which
GPS is unable to provide. The GPS of the future could perhaps
offer such services too, but there is no guarantee that they will
be free, least of all if GPS would hold a monopoly. In any case,
GPS will remain a system conceived primarily for military
applications.
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Will existing
GPS receivers be able to use GALILEO?
Negotiations
with U.S. administration are currently focusing on the shared use
of certain frequency bands. The future for the navigation receiver
user should be seen in the combined GPS / GALILEO receiver that
will be capable of computing signals from both contellations (GPS
+ Galileo). This will provide for the best
possible performance, accuracy and reliability. However, since
Galileo will not be available before 2008, current GPS-receivers
will most probaly not be able to receive Galileo-signals. It
remains to be seen if industry will be able to provide
software-updates, for example. On the other hand, given the
advance in technological development, today's GPS-receivers would
probably anyway be outdated in 5 or 6 years from now.
It should also be noted that, as GPS is
foreseen to evolve, "old GPS-reveivers" will face the
same difficulties with future upgraded GPS-signals.
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What
are the possible applications of GALILEO?
GALILEO will be used in all modes of transportation for
navigation, traffic and fleet management, tracking, surveillance
and emergency systems. As such, GALILEO will be a key element of
the future inter-mode traffic management system. Moreover it has
many non-transport applications. For detailed information, see the
applications section.
-
What
are the macro-economic benefits of GALILEO?
Recent studies put European macro-economic benefits
through additional equipment, sales and services at tens of billion
€ during the
service introduction and the first 15 years of operation. In these
industries, GALILEO will create thousands of new jobs. Potential
wider benefits result from the use of the system.
-
How
is GALILEO to be financed?
For the
development phase (2002-2005), €1.1 billion ere being
provided at equal shares by the European Union and by the European
Space Agency. For the
deployment phase (2006-2007), the Commission
will also make provision for partial funding from the Community
budget, and private funding will be provided by firms
participating in the project. For the operational phase starting
in 2008, the PricewaterhouseCoopers study anticipates gradually
decreasing public funding until 2015; this will be an advance from
the Community budget and not a subsidy, since it may be offset by
the operator's revenues.
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How
is GALILEO to be managed?
The development phase will be managed by the GALILEO
Joint
Undertaking.
The European Union, represented by the European Commission, and
the European Space Agency are its founding members.
-
How to find
employment in the GALILEO programme?
There is unfortunately no list of open jobs "on GALILEO".
By far the most jobs are within numerous private
companies such as consultants, manufacturers of space
components and others that either work on contracts with the
Commission or ESA or that invest in GALILEO on their own behalf.
Please understand that we can not provide an interface between
those companies and potential recrutees.
Apart from this, the GALILEO
Joint Undertaking, which will manage the development phase of
the GALILEO programme and which has its seat in Brussels, Belgium,
is currently recruiting its personnel. Please feel free to send
your curriculum to recruitment.GJU@esa.int.
-
How can my
company become actively involved?
For the
infrastructure development, contacts have to be taken with the
Joint Undertaking (details will be made available here once the
Joint Undertaking has taken up operations).
For downstream applications development, amounts will be allocated
within the 6th
Framework Programme for Research and Development.
See also: Private
sector participation.
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What
is the schedule of GALILEO?
GALILEO will be fully operable in
2008 at the latest, with start of signal transmission in 2005.
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