|
|
| Giove-A Demonstrator |
 |
Surrey Satellite Technology's new toy is the orbiting test-bed for satellites now being built that will make up the Galileo network. One of its first tasks is to transmit sat-nav signals to claim its radio operating frequencies from the European Union.
- 4.54m-long arrays provide solar power up to 660W
- Rocket propulsion tanks hold up to 50 kg of fuel
- On-board rubidium clocks and signal-generation units
- Antenna system transmits signals for ground testing
Source: www.news.bbc.co.uk
|
So it promises to be with Galileo. The Giove-A demo satellite now orbiting is up there to prove out the system's atomic clock accuracy - on board are rubidium clocks and signal-generation units with the special task of generating test transmissions to the ground. It's the clocks that will give Galileo its pinpoint capability. By triangulating the small but measurable time differences between three satellites and verifying against a fourth, present Galileo technology should be able to place your position to within a few feet, significantly better than the few-yards capability of the current GPS.
Don't try to rush out and buy your Galileo yet though, this week's launch is only one satellite for demonstration and testing. The real system won't be up and running till at least 2008 - and even that will only be an embryo system of four to cover Europe, nowhere close to world-wide. The full-service roll-out promises to be fast though, with at least 30 satellites in orbit by 2010.
Will this junk your existing GPS? Thankfully no. Galileo is designed to overlap with both GPS and the Russian Glonass systems to provide a seamless facility anywhere in the world. That makes it more like an upgrade without denying access to existing technology, kind of like installing Windows XP over Windows 95 - the same, only better.
Galileo doesn't eclipse GPS, it enhances it. But best of all, it provides a European system independent of American policies and restrictions. Only recently the White House announced it would deny GPS access if national security was involved. Not nice when you're negotiating Grand Banks fog into New Brunswick and they switch you off. Galileo however, will be under civilian control, not military. Well, who needs politics when you've got an emergency?
What makes Galileo important is the whole slew of new technology it triggers as a result of its tighter accuracy. ESA, the European Space Agency, are promising precision beyond the demo satellite's already impressive capability - right down to "centimetres".
The biggest impact on-land is likely to be with mobile phones tied into the exploding business of navigation aids in vehicles. New phones are likely to include a Galileo chip which will enable you to find your way exactly to the nearest ATM or your chosen restaurant in a foreign city. Authorities will be able to track your car individually for congestion charging or licence validation. Big Brother watching its EU citizens.
You can see the phone companies falling over themselves to cash in on this can't you? There'll be Galileo running trains, controlling commercial vehicles and landing planes (particularly with the single entity European airspace coming up). Which makes it particularly interesting when you consider the implications afloat. For the first time your phone will be linked by satellite, not just by the base station of the nearest cell. You might not be able to call for assistance if you're more than twenty miles offshore, but rescue services should be able to position exactly where you are as long as your phone is on. Useful if your power is knocked out and your radio is phut.
One thing's for sure, Galileo is going to be big. EU planners already anticipate more than 400 million sat-nav users by 2015, with European aerospace and electronics firms saying it will create more than 100,000 jobs.
Behind the scenes pushing and shoving is already going on. Galileo Industries will build and control the system - the ground stations have yet to be built, but two consortia are battling it out to actually operate it: the Eurely alliance, which includes Alcatel, Finmeccanica and Vinci; and the iNavsat consortium, made up rivals Thales, EADS and Inmarsat.
With big business like that involved, Galileo will not be allowed to be much less than perfect - reassuring to all of us who know that navigating on open ocean is not a thing to take chances with.
Which is why though all us salty dogs might buy a system to make life easier, we'll still take the insurance policy of sextant, charts, dividers and parallel rulers - too many times we've seen Bruce Willis strapped into a spacecraft, going up to fix a satellite knocked out by a meteorite or whatever.
