Slashgeo

New Galileo GPS System Woes

posted by Satri on Friday March 16, @10:29AM        Permalink  Trackback URI  Slashdotthis  Diggthis  Del.icio.us
from the international-collaborations-does-not-always-work-as-desired dept.

GeoCarta links to an article about the European Galileo project halted by serious problems. From the article: "Plans to launch a European satellite navigation system to rival the US global positioning system have ground to a halt following a break down in relations between governments and private contractors. Jacques Barrot, the transport commissioner, said on Wednesday he was writing to the eight companies building the Galileo system to discover the reason for more than a year's delay. "They are just not working," said his spokesman. [...] There were originally to be 30 satellites in place by 2010 but Mr Barrot's spokesman said the system would not be operational until 2011, and the timetable was slipping by the day. China recently said its Beidou system would cover China and its neighbours by 2008, and then the rest of the world." See also the numerous related stories below.

Trackbacks:

• NONE
• NONE
• NONE
• NONE
• NONE
• NONE
• NONE
• NONE
• NONE
• NONE

Related Stories

EU Launches the First Galileo Satellite 3 comments [+]

The Press Release states the first satellite in the EU's Galileo satellite navigation program was launched from Kazakhstan on Wednesday, a major step forward for Europe's answer to the United States' Global Positioning System. Very Spatial points to two BBC News articles about it. While the Think blog discuss how Galileo will make any money, linking to Ed's blog entry on this issue.

GALILEO About Much More Than Sovereignty [+]

Vector One has an interesting blog entry about why GALILEO is much more than about sovereignty. From the entry's introduction: "GALILEO is more than politics alone, it aims to capitalise upon the convergence of geotechnology developement and awareness. Other benefits dovetail with current European Commission goals associated with transportation. Lastly, GALILEO will serve as a deeper conduit that promotes pan-European education agenda while increasing synergy between countries and industry. GALILEO has everything to do with pro-European development."

Cracking the GPS Galileo Satellite [+]

Slashdot discuss and links to a Newswise article named cracking the secret codes of Europe's Galileo satellite. From the article's introduction: "Members of Cornell's Global Positioning System (GPS) Laboratory have cracked the so-called pseudo random number (PRN) codes of Europe's first global navigation satellite, despite efforts to keep the codes secret. That means free access for consumers who use navigation devices -- including handheld receivers and systems installed in vehicles -- that need PRNs to listen to satellites."

China's Compass Diverges from Europe's Galileo [+]

the SM-GIS blog links to a Space Review article on Europe's Galileo and China's Compass. From the article: "For the Chinese, Galileo is no longer a partner, but instead more of a competitor. They extracted as much as they reasonably could have out of their relationship with the Europeans over this and now have decided to strike out on their own. [...] China was invited into Galileo partly as a way to snub the US and partly because the Europeans seem to believe that the more “international” a project is the better chance it has of not being canceled."

Chinese GPS System to be Offered Free 1 comment [+]

Slashdot discuss the Chinese Beidou geostationary GPS system to be offered free. Their summary: "The Chinese GPS system, Beidou, is apparently to be opened up for free access within China, worrying European investors on the 2.5 billion competing project, Galileo. Initially, China had declared that access to their system would be restricted to the military, and Europe had planned to recoup some of the cost of their system selling licenses to China. Michael Shaw, from the US government's National Space-based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Coordination Office in Washington DC said "Frankly, China's behavior towards Europe is not so different to how Europe behaved with us when GPS was the only game in town a decade ago."

Galileo Behind Schedule [+]

All Points Blog links to a EETimes article on Europe's Galileo being behind schedule. From the article: "Barrot said the year-end deadline to conclude the negotiations would again be missed. Original plans called for a deal to be concluded by late 2005. The Commissioner also revealed that the start-up budget of Euros 1.5 billion is still about Euros 200 million short and that talks with national governments are continuing to finalize this budget. "

Putin Hopes GLONASS will Outperform GPS 2 comments [+]

GeoCarta discuss and links to articles related to Vladimir Putin hoping GLONASS will have a bright future. From this article: " “In order users chose GLONASS, the system should operate flawlessly, better than GPS (the global positioning system). Cheaper and with a better quality,” he said at a meeting with government members on Monday. “I hope that the government will pay much attention to the creation of the GLONASS system,” the president said. He added that he watched the progress of the project. “We have the right to count on known, healthy economic patriotism of our users, first of all of the state, but I proceed from the assumption that we shall work on market terms in this sector of the economy, and users will be able to chose a quality service,” Putin stressed." See numerous related stories below, including the collaboration between India and Russia.

Europe's Galileo Program In Serious Trouble 1 comment [+]

Slashdot runs a story about Europe's Galileo program in serious trouble. Vector One also provides interesting analysis of Galileo's status. The Slashdot summary: "Various news outlets are reporting that Europe's Galileo program is facing a serious financial and technical crisis and may be permanently stalled. The European program, designed to be a superior answer to the US's GPS — and, more critically, not controlled by the US — has faced numerous hurdles since its inception. To date the Galileo program has succeeded in launching only one of its 30 planned satellites and has been beset by delays and cost overruns. Apparently, squabbling between the eight companies in the consortium behind the project is responsible for many of the problems. The project is now threatened with an EU takeover. But some doubt that even an infusion of EU capital can save the flagging program." See previous stories below about the problems.

US GPS and EU Galileo to Work Together 1 comment [+]

Slashdot discuss a Reuters article on the U.S. and Europe trying to reach an agreement to allow using GPS and Galileo signals together. Their summary: "The US and EU are in talks to allow their separate GPS systems to work together. The future uses would allow enhanced location information based on two readings, among other benefits. 'The market probably will drive dual-use receivers. We think probably that single (U.S.) GPS-specific, or Galileo-specific receivers — the market will phase out in time [...] It just doesn't make sense to limit yourself to just one system'." Also from the article: "Under the agreement, which the United States says it expects to be signed this week, both EU and U.S. satellites would send information on the same radio frequency, enabling receivers to get signals from both systems and combine the data." If you read the informative comment on Very Spatial, you'll learn that such GPS-Galileo cooperation was planned from the beginning. See below numerous related stories, including the serious financial troubles of Galileo. Vector One also remarks the new USAF approved 8 GPSIIIa satellites to be launched by 2013.

Galileo's Objectives and Funding 1 comment [+]

Here's a few news regarding the Galileo European satellite navigation system. The SatNav blog questions the objectives of the Galileo program and provide comments following a European Commission communication on Galileo. Related, APB links to an article on the European Commission outlining its plan to get the Galileo satellite navigation system back on track [BBC] and new delays for the second satellite launch. From the BBC article: "This would mean member states having to find about a billion more than they expected because of the collapse of private sector involvement. The EC is determined to have Galileo operational by the end of 2012. However, this target is dependent on financing arrangements being put in place this year. So far, only four spacecraft in the eventual 30-satellite constellation have been ordered. Unless contracts are issued for more platforms in the coming months, the timetable will slip again and Europe's biggest single space project may then face calls to be scrapped altogether." See also the related stories below.

• Vector One comments

  (Score:2)

  by Satri (3) on Tuesday March 20, @01:07PM (#1327)
  ( http://alexandreleroux.blogspot.com/ | Last Journal: Friday March 17, @04:07PM )

  on Galileo's problems [geovisualisation.com].