First African Early SBAS Open Service Activated
The Agency for Air Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar, ASECNA, has started to broadcast an SBAS (Satellite-Based Augmentation System) signal over Africa & the Indian Ocean (AFI) region, providing the first African Early SBAS open service in that part of the world via NIGCOMSAT-1R Satellite that is managed and operated by Nigerian Communications Satellite Ltd under Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy of Nigeria.
The use of our geostationary communication satellite NIGCOMSAT-1R navigation payload to broadcast the first signal will be Africa’s premier contribution to SBAS as a regional satellite-based augmentation system for the continent."
Dr. Abimbola Alale, MD/CEO of NIGCOMSAT Ltd.
This early open service is provided as part of the "SBAS for Africa & the Indian Ocean" program which pursues the autonomous provision over the continent of SBAS services, to augment the performances of the satellite navigation constellations GPS and Galileo. With improved accuracy to within a meter, and boosted integrity, availability and continuity of safety-related applications, these SBAS services will improve flight safety and efficiency in Africa, and also benefit to the economy in many areas as land, sea and rail transport, as well as mass market applications, supporting user safety, cost-effectiveness and sustainable development.
The just-launched first African Early SBAS open service essentially aims to carry-out technical trials, and to undertake with partner airlines field demonstrations for aircraft and rotorcraft, to demonstrate the benefits of the future operational safety-of-life SBAS services, expected from 2024. It will also include early Precise Point Positioning (PPP) and emergency warning service to populations, which performance will be proven through other demonstrations.
The signal-in-space is generated by a dedicated system testbed, developed as part of the “SBAS for Africa and the Indian Ocean” preliminary design phase, financed by the European Union and awarded to Thales Alenia Space, a Joint Venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%). The “SBAS for Africa and Indian Ocean” is based on the European EGNOS1 developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) acting under delegation of the European Commission and operated by the European GNSS Agency GSA.
The system prototype uses as reference the SAGAIE network deployed by CNES and ASECNA with the support of Thales Alenia Space.
The signal is broadcast via the SBAS payload on NigComSat 1R GEO satellite of the Nigerian Communications Satellite Ltd and an uplink station deployed in Abuja (Nigeria). It is compliant with the Standards and Recommended Practices of the International Civil Aviation Organization, and the Minimum Operational Performance Standard developed by the RTCA (Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics) organisation. It will be visible to Africa and the Indian Ocean, up to the West Australian coast, and also in Europe.
“We are proud to be part of this ambitious program to provide satellite navigation services in the Africa and Indian Ocean region. The use of our geostationary communication satellite NIGCOMSAT-1R navigation payload to broadcast the first signal will be Africa’s premier contribution to SBAS as a regional satellite-based augmentation system for the continent,” said Dr. Abimbola Alale, MD/CEO of NIGCOMSAT Ltd.
“Our longstanding expertise acquired with the development of EGNOS1 SBAS in Europe and KASS SBAS in Korea combined with our new leading-edge satellite positioning technologies makes Thales Alenia Space the ideal partner to best support countries to implement their own SBAS efficiently. The equatorial region represents also a key engineering challenge for such a system due to difficult ionosphere conditions, for which Thales Alenia Space has developed a proven solution," said Benoit Broudy, Vice President of the Navigation business at Thales Alenia Space in France.
The provision of the first African SBAS early service is a crucial major step forward in the development of satellite navigation in the AFI Region, and in the deployment of the “SBAS for Africa and the Indian Ocean” system, the navigation solution for Africa by Africa. It demonstrates the ambition and commitment of ASECNA to enhance air navigation safety for the benefit of the whole continent, in line with my vision for the unification of the African Sky, stated Mohamed Moussa, Director General of ASECNA.
(Image provided with Thales news release)