14°C
Porth, Newquay, Cornwall. UK
Updated19/03/2024 10:45 
 




ESA - Navigation News

The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
ESA Navigation
ESA Navigation

ESA Navigation

March 11th, 2024 08:55:00 EDT -0400 Contract for new Galileo atomic clock tech signed
Developing new technology for atomic clocks

ESA, on behalf of the European Commission, has signed a €12 million contract with Leonardo S.p.A (Italy) and Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica to design and develop a new ultra-precise atomic clock technology for Galileo.

March 8th, 2024 05:45:00 EST -0500 The geodetic community meets Genesis
GENESIS Science Workshop

The first Genesis science workshop brought together the ESA project team and the scientific geodesy community to establish the Genesis Scientific Exploitation Team and to set the ground for future collaboration.

February 29th, 2024 05:57:00 EST -0500 GENESIS mission patch
GENESIS mission patch Image: GENESIS mission patch
February 9th, 2024 02:48:00 EST -0500 15th satnav summer school open for registrations
ESA-JRC summer school on GNSS 2023

Are you a researcher in the field of satellite navigation? Register now for this year’s ESA-JRC International Summer School on Global Navigation Satellite Systems, taking place in Slovenia in July, to learn from top-notch experts and expand your network.

January 29th, 2024 08:20:00 EST -0500 Galileo, now fit for aviation
Navigation in aviation

Galileo, already the world’s most precise satellite navigation system, now meets international standards to guide civil aviation from take-off to landing, complementing Europe’s EGNOS for the most critical operations. Galileo was not designed to comply with these strict safety requirements, so how did engineers at ESA achieve this feat? This is a tale of engineering excellence.

January 22nd, 2024 04:00:00 EST -0500 ESA’s NavLab drone
Video: 00:02:16

Based at the ESTEC technical centre in the Netherlands, ESA’s Navigation Laboratory has a high-flying new recruit: this drone can carry different types of satellite navigation receivers to collect data for follow-on analysis.

December 14th, 2023 03:05:00 EST -0500 New instruments for Galileo’s tomorrow
Team in charge of G2 new instruments

Galileo Second Generation is on the way with new and enhanced navigation satellites that will offer novel signals, services and even more precise positioning. But all the work being done to make it happen hinges on this single item at ESA’s Navigation Laboratory at ESTEC. The G2 test user receiver is designed to quantify the improvements the Second Generation will bring compared to current satellite navigation systems and will be used to verify the performance of early receivers processing the first G2 signals in space.

December 5th, 2023 12:00:00 EST -0500 NAVISP Industry 2023 @ ESTEC
Video: 00:02:04

In November 2023, ESA hosted its annual NAVISP Industry Days event. This year, more than 200 positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) professionals from across Europe gathered at ESA’s Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in the Netherlands to explore together opportunities for innovation, commercialisation and collaboration via ESA’s Navigation Innovation and Support Programme (NAVISP).

For more information: visit https://navisp.esa.int

July 24th, 2023 06:12:00 EDT -0400 New Galileo station goes on duty
New Galileo station goes on duty Image: New Galileo station goes on duty
June 9th, 2023 03:45:00 EDT -0400 Satnav from Earth to the Moon
Satnav from Earth to the Moon Image: Satnav from Earth to the Moon
March 10th, 2023 07:56:00 EST -0500 Galileo on the ground – infographic
Galileo on the ground – infographic Image: Galileo on the ground – infographic
March 9th, 2023 09:43:00 EST -0500 Galileo saving lives – infographic
Galileo saving lives – infographic Image: Galileo saving lives – infographic
November 14th, 2022 09:00:00 EST -0500 Saying goodbye to Galileo 1st Generation
Video: 00:04:05

Galileo is Europe’s largest satellite constellation – and the world’s most accurate satnav system. The work on Galileo began two decades ago with two test GIOVE satellites, followed by a series of operational launches.

The two GIOVE satellites, the first Galileo In-Orbit Validation satellite and all 34 Galileo Full Operational Capability satellites were tested at ESA’s ESTEC Test Centre, Europe’s largest satellite testing facility.

On this day the very last satellite in the Galileo First Generation series leaves the site, and the people responsible for readying them for space have gathered to say goodbye. Next will come the Galileo Second Generation satellites, already in development.

About Galileo

Galileo is managed and funded by the European Union. The European Commission, ESA and EUSPA (the EU Agency for the Space Programme) have signed an agreement by which ESA acts as design authority and system development prime on behalf of the Commission and EUSPA as the exploitation and operation manager of Galileo/EGNOS.

November 9th, 2022 10:00:00 EST -0500 What is ESA’s Moonlight initiative?
Video: 00:03:21

Going to the Moon was the first step. Staying there is the next ambition.

ESA is a key partner in NASA’s Artemis programme, which aims to return people to the Moon by the end of the decade. Dozens of other international public and private missions are setting their sights on the lunar surface in the coming years.  

But to achieve a permanent and sustainable presence on the Moon, reliable and autonomous lunar communications and navigation services are required.

This is why ESA is working with its industrial partners on the Moonlight initiative, to become the first off-planet commercial telecoms and satellite navigation provider.

Following their launch, three or four satellites will be carried into lunar orbit by a space tug and deployed one by one, to form a constellation of lunar satellites. The number and specification of these satellites are currently being defined.

The constellation's orbits are optimised to give coverage to the lunar south pole, whose sustained sunlight and polar ice make it the focus of upcoming missions.

Moonlight will provide data capacities sufficient to serve these planned and future missions, with a navigation service that enables accurate real-time positioning for all lunar missions.

November 3rd, 2022 10:00:00 EDT -0400 Testing Galileo for space
Video: 00:06:36

Galileo has grown to become Europe’s single largest satellite constellation, and the world’s most accurate satellite navigation system, delivering metre-level positioning to more than 3.5 billion users around the globe.
It all began at ESTEC’s Test Centre, Europe’s largest satellite testing facility. This is where the very first positioning fix took place in March 2013, after the launch into orbit of the initial four IOV satellites. Following that, all 34 Galileo Full Operational Capability satellites also passed by ESTEC for their pre-flight testing.
This 3000 sq. m environmentally-controlled complex, operated and managed by European Test Services for ESA, hosts an array of test equipment able to simulate all aspects of spaceflight, from the noise and vibration of launch to the vacuum and temperature extremes of Earth orbit.
The production line at manufacturer OHB in Germany completed one new satellite every six weeks. After integration each satellite was then shipped to the ESTEC Test Centre for a three-month test campaign, after which it would be accepted by the Agency and declared ready for flight. Some facilities have had to be adapted specifically for Galileo, and the ESTEC Test Centre had to institute new security protocols because this was the first time that satellites with security restrictions were being tested at the site.
Today there are 28 of these Galileo First Generation satellites in service, with 10 more due to be launched in the next years. Upgraded Galileo Second Generation satellites are under development and will follow them into orbit later this decade.
Members of ESA’s Galileo team and ETS look back on this massive testing effort that established Galileo was ready for space.

About Galileo
Galileo is managed and funded by the European Union. The European Commission, ESA and EUSPA (the EU Agency for the Space Programme) have signed an agreement by which ESA acts as design authority and system development prime on behalf of the Commission and EUSPA as the exploitation and operation manager of Galileo/EGNOS.