Galileo Second Generation Enters Full Development Stage
The main procurement batch of Galileo second generation satellites initiated last summer has been finalized, leaving the system ready for its In Orbit Validation development phase. Following the opening session of the European Navigation Conference (ENC), ESA Director of Navigation Javier Benedicto invited Thales Alenia Space (Italy), Airbus Defence and Space (Germany) and Thales Six GTS (France) to sign the respective contracts commencing System Engineering Support for the next generation of Europe’s navigation satellite system.
"Galileo Second Generation will ensure the system goes forward into the future with novel capabilities and additional robustness."
Javier Benedicto, ESA
With 28 satellites in orbit, Galileo is currently the world’s most precise satellite navigation system, providing meter-level accuracy to more than four billion users around the globe. There are currently 10 further Galileo satellites due to be launched, after which the first of the Galileo Second Generation (G2) satellites with enhanced capabilities are expected to begin joining the constellation later in the coming years.
Satellite-building contracts were awarded in 2021 to Thales Alenia Space (Italy) and Airbus Defense & Space (Germany) to create two independent families of satellites amounting to 12 G2 satellites in total, as well as separate contracts with Safran Electronics & Defence - Navigation & Timing (France) and Leonardo (Italy) covering the ultra-precise atomic clocks carried aboard.
Galileo Second Generation Ready to be Built
Following a new procurement batch in summer 2022, all of the other fundamental building blocks for Galileo Second Generation are now ready to be built with European industry, such as the system testbeds, its ground segment and engineering support.
ESA, acting on behalf of the European Union Agency for the Space Program (EUSPA) as Galileo’s design authority and system development prime, has in recent months awarded up to one billion Euros in contracts, which bring the overall commitment in Galileo Second Generation close to three billion Euros in this Financial Framework.
"Galileo has always been intended as a permanent resource benefiting the lives of European and world citizens, and Galileo Second Generation will ensure the system goes forward into the future with novel capabilities and additional robustness, to ensure that Galileo services are available and reliable wherever and whenever they are needed," said Javier Benedicto, ESA Director of Navigation.
Employing electric propulsion for the first time, and hosting a higher-strength navigation antenna, the satellites will incorporate six (rather than four) enhanced atomic clocks as well as inter-satellite links, allowing them to communicate and cross-check with one another. They will be controllable with an increased data rate to and from the ground and will operate for 15 years in orbit.
In addition, G2’s fully digital payloads are being designed to be easily reconfigured in orbit, enabling them to actively respond to the evolving needs of users with novel signals and services.
(Source: ESA news release. Images provided)