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CX2SA > SAT 28.12.05 21:48l 100 Lines 4420 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 13496_CX2SA
Read: GUEST
Subj: Europe launches Galileo sat.
Path: DB0FHN<DB0MRW<DB0WUE<DK0WUE<7M3TJZ<IW8PGT<CX2SA
Sent: 051228/1926Z @:CX2SA.LAV.URY.SA #:13496 [Minas] FBB7.00e $:13496_CX2SA
From: CX2SA@CX2SA.LAV.URY.SA
To : SAT@WW
Europe launches Galileo satellite
=================================
A new era in satellite navigation has begun with the launch of Giove-A.
The 600kg spacecraft was lofted into orbit on a Soyuz rocket from Baikonur,
Kazakhstan, at 1119 (0519GMT).
The new network will give EU states guaranteed access to a space-borne precise
timing and location service independent of the United States.
The perfect launch was a moment of celebration for the small British company,
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL), which had been given the prestigious
task of building the demonstrator.
Europe's 'vanguard'
--------------------
SSTL staff had gathered at their Guildford base to watch the lift-off on a
TV link from Baikonur.
The company put the spacecraft together in less than three years, a remarkably
short timeframe for what is essentially an experimental platform.
"Three years ago I did a sketch of what I thought we could do. To go from that
sketch to what we have now is amazing," recalled John Paffett, projects
director with SSTL.
"It's not over yet - there's a lot of hard work to go ahead - but it's
definitely a monumental occasion," he told the BBC News website.
Professor Sir Martin Sweeting, the CEO of SSTL, added: "This is going to be
Europe's largest space project. As a relatively small company - we're an SME of
200 people, specialising in small and rapid-response spacecraft - to take the
vanguard of such a large programme is quite an experience."
First signal
------------
Giove-A will check out the in-orbit performance of two atomic clocks
- critical to any sat-nav system - and a number of other components
that will be incorporated into the 30 satellites of the fully fledged
Galileo constellation.
These spacecraft - four of which have already been ordered - are expected all
to be in orbit by the end of 2010.
Giove-A also has the important job of securing the radio frequencies allocated
to Galileo within the International Telecommunications Union.
To do this, a sat-nav signal of the correct structure must be received on Earth
by June 2006. The SSTL team believes it can complete this task within the first
couple of weeks of flight.
Galileo is a joint venture between the European Union and the European Space
Agency (Esa).
Once fully deployed, the new system should revolutionise the way we use precise
timing and location signals delivered from space.
"We are aiming to provide one-metre, worldwide accuracy through Galileo's
'open' service - this is not possible today without regional or local
augmentation," said Esa's Galileo project manager, Javier Benedicto.
"With the use of three signals, we will have access to centimetre accuracies,
and with these you will see many more services than you have today; and
European industry is working to develop those applications."
Future growth
-------------
In few years' time, a small Galileo chip will be integrated in mobile
phones, giving users the ability to pinpoint restaurants, hotels,
movie theatres, hospitals or car parks.
Galileo will deliver the tools national governments need to introduce wide
-scale road charging.
The network will also underpin Europe's new air-traffic control system. The
single European sky initiative will overhaul current technologies used to keep
planes at safe separations, and allow pilots to fly their own routes and
altitudes.
SSTL hopes a successful mission for Giove-A will bring more orders for sat-nav
and other spacecraft.
"This is very good for our development," explained Max Meerman, a principal
engineer with the company.
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