European GNSS Agency (GSA) Executive Director Carlo des Dorides joins members of the global PNT community to discuss the future of GNSS during the opening session of the Munich Satellite Navigation Summit.
The Munich Satellite Navigation Summit opened on 24 March under the theme “The Future of PNT – A Glance into the Crystal Ball”. To discuss the details of what this future might look like, GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides joined representatives from the European Commission, Bavarian State, French Space Agency (CNES), GPS (USA), GLONSASS (Russia) and BeiDou (China), among others.
On the European side of the equation, the future of PNT is Galileo. On this note, des Dorides specifically called attention to the GSA’s recent delegation of responsibility for Galileo’s service provision. According to des Dorides, the Galileo service provision includes three essential features: system infrastructure, the GSOp tender and the GSA itself.
Establishing its Niche
As to the first feature, much of the necessary infrastructure is well into the development stage. For example, the European GNSS Service Centre (GSC) will be an integral part of the E-GNSS infrastructure, providing a single interface between the Galileo system and users of the Galileo Open Service (OS) and Galileo Commercial Service (CS). The Galileo Security Monitoring Centre (GSMC), on the hand, will monitor and take action against security threats and alerts and manage PRS access on a system level, along with providing ongoing security expertise and analysis.
Shaping the Future of Galileo
The GSA recently launched the Galileo Service Operator (GSOp) procurement, an important first step in GSA’s role of overseeing the exploitation of the Galileo programme. “With a value of approximately EUR 1 billion, the contract will shape the future of Galileo services for the next eight to 10 years,” said des Dorides.
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The awarding of the contract is expected in the second half of 2016.
A Culture of Competence and Efficiency
Des Dorides further noted that the service provision includes the culture of the GSA itself. “For us, the service provision is about strengthening the culture of the GSA, ensuring it is one focused on the customer and dedicated to the competence and efficiency of the system.”
A significant first step in guaranteeing this culture happened last December when the GSA received ISO 9001 certification. ISO 9001 is an internationally recognised certification of an organisation’s quality management system standards.
The Multi-Constellation System
The panellists all agree that Galileo will play an essential role in a multi-constellation, global GNSS system. “The multi-constellation concept is highly appreciated and valued by the marketplace,” said des Dorides. “This is clearly seen in the fact that most of the major chipset manufacturers are building multi-frequency chips, over a third of which already include Galileo – a good result considering the system is not even fully developed yet.”
On the topic of Galileo’s place in the market, European Commission Director of EU Satellite Navigation Programmes Matthias Petschke added that in order to be a success, Galileo must be taken up by the market. “To do this, we must provide quality services that respond to the future users’ needs,” he said. “One of these needs will be for a multi-constellation system, and Galileo’s international dimension – both its inter- and intra-operability with other GNSS systems – is key.”
“A multi-constellation system is essential to improving availability, accuracy and reliability,” concluded ESA Director Designate Johann-Dietrich Wörner. “With a multi-constellation system in place, looking into the GNSS crystal ball we see such trends as seamless outdoor/indoor navigation and autonomous applications in such sectors as road, rail, maritime and aviation.”
- Current EGNOS release ESR 2.3.2 consists of two operational GEO satellites, with an additional satellite in testing.
- The new ESR 2.4.1M satellite has been qualified and is currently in the process of being deployed. Its entry into operation is foreseen for the third quarter of this year, it will add more robustness to the programme.
- The new ESR 2.4.1N satellite is under development, with an estimated entry into operation in 2016.
As a highlight of the programme’s success, Pieplu turned to the aviation sector and its rapid implementation of LPV procedures at airports. According to the latest statistics, there are currently close to 180 LPV procedures in Europe, with 320 more planned by the end of 2016.
“The LPV trend showcases our EGNOS service evolution plan, where we are on track for introducing LPV200 procedures by 2016,” he said. “In addition, we plan to extend the EGNOS service to higher altitudes by 2020 and to cover the entire EU-28 by 2016.”
The upcoming launch of EGNOS version three was also a topic of discussion, with Pieplu noting that the GSA continues to transition the evolution from the R&D phase to the exploitation phase. Version three will offer dual frequency services and multi-constellation augmentation with such systems as Galileo and GPS. First operational release is targeted for the 2020 to 2022 timeframe.
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More information:
The European GNSS Agency
Galileo Applications
EGNOS Portal
Munich Satellite Navigation Conference