The challenges facing the Galileo project

Date: 13/04/06

The first Galileo test-bed satellite was launched on 28 December 2005 and is performing well.

Beyond a technical demonstration, it secured the frequencies for future Galileo services. If they had not been used, the reservations secured for them with the International Telecommunications Union would have lapsed in June 2006.

The second test-bed satellite will fly by late 2006 to validate critical technologies.

The contract for the first four pre-operational Galileo satellites was eventually signed between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the industry in January. These In-Orbit Validation (IOV) satellites are tentatively planned for launch in 2008 and will provide the first full-scale demonstration of the system's architecture.

Although Galileo seems to be on its way towards completion, there are still numerous hurdles ahead that could stall Europe's efforts to build up its own global navigation satellite system.

Continual fights between European countries about the sharing of activities have disrupted the schedule on many occasions. Industry had started working on IOV satellites under a EUR 150 million advance made by ESA in late 2004 and a firm contract was expected before these funds were depleted in October. Work shares were eventually approved in December but the January contract had to be limited to the manufacturing of the satellites and of their ground segment because the money for their launches was only made available in February.

This last budget envelope funded the full EUR 1.5 billion development and validation phase. That was the easy part. The deployment phase, with 26 more satellites to build and launch, will cost an estimated EUR 2.3 billion. One-third of this amount will come from public funding and the European Commission has already planned a EUR 700m budget. The other two- thirds will come from the future concessionaire. The two bidding consortia selected in June 2005 have been merged and are negotiating for the 20-year concession contract. The stumbling block is a requirement for guarantees from public finances as the return from investments may take several years to materialise. In the meantime, operating and maintaining the Galileo constellation will cost about EUR 250m per year. Hard talks may last until the end of the year as the life of the Galileo Joint Undertaking, which acts as an interim concessionaire, has already been extended from 31 May to 31 December. A Commission support, progressively decreasing with time, is being considered.

Nevertheless, the clock is already running for the future concessionaire as it will have to order the operational Galileo satellites from the industry before the four IOV satellites are completed, in order to keep the manufacturing line in activity. This means 2007 at the latest.

Meanwhile, the global navigation satellite system supervisory authority, which will own Galileo, will have to define the actual role of third parties who decided to join and contribute to the project. China, for instance, gave EUR 65m for the development and validation phase and another EUR 130m for the deployment phase. But its role in the operational phase remains unclear, as is also the case with India, Israel and Ukraine.

Article takes a look at recent developments concerning the European Union's satellite navigation system, Galileo.
Article is part of a European Voice Special Report, 'European Space Policy'.

• Primary Source

European Commission/ESA: Galileo Joint Undertaking http://www.galileoju.com/indexh.htm

European Commission: DG Energy and Transport: Galileo http://ec.europa.eu/comm/dgs/energy_transport/galileo/index_en.htm

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