European Commission, Press release, Brussels, 25 August 2014:
Following the failure on Friday
August 22nd to inject Galileo satellites 5 and 6 into the correct orbit,
the European Commission has requested Arianespace and the European
Space Agency (ESA) to provide full details of the incident, together
with a schedule and an action plan to rectify the problem.
According to initial information
from Arianespace, the problem involved the upper stage of the launcher,
as a result of which the satellites were not injected into the required
orbit.
The Commission is participating
in the Board of Inquiry set up to identify the causes of the problem,
which is expected to present preliminary results in the first half of
September. This Board of Inquiry will aim to put in place corrective
measures at the level of Arianespace to avoid such incidents being
repeated with future launches.
ESA has informed the Commission
that its Control Centre in Darmstadt (Germany) has the satellites under
control, although they are not placed in their intended orbital
position. The European Commission is working in close cooperation with
the European Space Agency to maximise the possibilities to use the two
satellites as part of the Galileo network.
The Commission has set up an
internal Task Force to monitor the situation, working in close contact
with ESA and Arianespace. Both ESA and Arianespace have been invited to
Brussels to present the initial results of their inquiry to European
Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship Ferdinando Nelli Feroci
in the first week of September.
Commissioner Ferdinando Nelli Feroci, commented "The
problem with the launch of the two Galileo satellites is very
unfortunate. The European Commission will participate in an inquiry with
ESA to understand the causes of the incident and to verify the extent
to which the two satellites could be used for the Galileo programme. I
remain convinced of the strategic importance of Galileo and I am
confident that the deployment of the constellation of satellites will
continue as planned."
Background - benefits of EU's satellite navigation systems
Galileo is the EU's programme to
develop a global satellite navigation system under European civilian
control. Galileo signals will allow users to know their exact position
in time and space with greater precision and reliability than with the
currently existing systems. Galileo will be compatible with and, for
some of its services, interoperable with existing similar systems, but
will be autonomous.
The improved positioning and
timing information supplied by Galileo will have positive implications
for many services and users in Europe. Products that people use daily,
for example in-car navigation devices and mobile phones will benefit
from the extra accuracy provided by Galileo. Galileo's satellite
navigation data will also benefit critical services for citizens and
users, for example it will make road and rail transport systems safer
and improve our responses to emergency situations.
Once it has entered into its
operational phase, Galileo will also allow the introduction of a wide
range of innovative new products and services in other industries and
generate economic growth, innovation and highly skilled jobs. In 2013
the annual global market for global navigation satellite products and
services was valued at €175 billion and it is expected to grow over the
next years to an estimated €237 billion by 2020.
The Commission aims to have the
full constellation of 30 Galileo satellites (which includes six in-orbit
active spares) in operation before the end of this decade.
To foster economic development
and maximise the socio-economic benefits expected from the system, the
Commission plans to update the EU's action plan for global navigation
satellite system applications and propose new measures to promote the
use of Galileo.
Since 2011, four Galileo
satellites have been launched and used as part of the In-Orbit
Validation phase, allowing the first autonomous position fix to be
calculated based on Galileo-only signals in March 2013.
The European Geostationary
Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) is already bringing practical
benefits. EGNOS improves the accuracy and the reliability of signals
from existing global navigation satellite systems by correcting signal
measurement errors and by providing information about signal integrity.
EGNOS is used for example by the aviation industry, to provide the
positioning accuracy needed for more precise landings, fewer delays and
diversions and more efficient routes in Europe.
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-945_en.htm?locale=en
25/8/14
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