Giove-A2 to Guarantee Galileo Continuity
By Anonymous
On 5 March ESA awarded a contract to Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (UK) for initial activities leading to the construction of a second spacecraft for the Galileo satellite navigation system. Named Giove-A2, the new satellite (estimated total value euro25-30 million) will be based on the company’s proven Giove-A technology. Giove stands for Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element.
The announcement follows reports that technical problems on the second Galileo demonstrator satellite, Giove-B (built by the Galileo Industries consortium that will produce the operational spacecraft), have now been resolved and the satellite will be ready for a Soyuz launch later this year. Giove-B was initially scheduled for launch in 2005.
ESA indicates that the Giove-A2 satellite will be ready for launch in the second half of 2008. The actual launch date will be decided later, taking into account the situation of Giove-A and Giove-B.
ESA says that it wants to guarantee the continuity or the Galileo programme with the permanent presence of a spacecraft in orbit. This will maintain European rights to the frequencies and allow continuation of the experiments initiated with the Giove-A mission and planned for Giove-B. Giove-A2 will help maintain the critical International Telecommunications Union (ITU) frequency filing secured by its predecessor for a further 27 months and facilitate further development of ground equipment.
The new satellite will incorporate some enhancements over Giove- A which will allow additional signals to be generated and received on the ground. The aim will be to provide early in-orbit experimentation with the common baseline L1 open service signals recently recommended by the European Union and the United States. In the future, these open service signals will provide free of charge position and timing competitive with other GNSS systems.
The new addition to the Giove family will be an enhanced version of Giove-A
Copyright Aerospace Media Publishing Spring 2007
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