Wonderful. One day it is all going to prove a horrific butcher's bill.
Posted on 07/29/2005 7:32:20 AM PDT by DTAD
BEIJING: Today Chinese participation in Galileo entered a practical stage, with the signature of three contracts by Chinese entities represented by China Galileo Industries. With these contracts finalised, the Chinese industry is now actively involved in the development phase of the Galileo Programme - the European Satellite Navigation Programme with global availability.
The signing ceremony gathered together Prof. MA Songde, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, Mr. Rainer Grohe, Executive Director of the Galileo Joint Undertaking (GJU), and Mr. ZHANG Guocheng, Executive Director of the National Remote Sensing Centre of China (NRSCC).
Prof. Ma and Mr. Zhang expressed their high appreciation about this successful development. “The signature of these three contracts is a further important step in the involvement of Chinese entities in the Galileo programme. Further contracts are being prepared and will be signed in the near future.”
Rainer Grohe, Executive Director of the GJU, “Today we have entered a new phase, it is true to say that the signature of the contracts could not have been possible without strong collaboration between the NRSCC and the GJU. Chinese entities are now actively working in the development of the Galileo System. These three contracts are just the first; we intend to sign others in the near future”.
The GJU was set up in 2002 by the European Union (EU) and European Space Agency (ESA) to manage the development phase of Galileo. The National Remote Sensing Center of China (NRSCC) is responsible for the implementation of the Galileo Programme in China.
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Well, if "Europe" is ever going to grow its own military, it should really gets its own military GPS.
But as for Britain, I for one am totally against British dis-engagement from joint op capability with America. Hopefully this is not being seriously considered, but you never know sometimes.
Wonderful. One day it is all going to prove a horrific butcher's bill.
The Chinese are being brought on board because they're the only ones with money to spend -- not because they have any technology or knowhow to contribute.
Thats correct but such investment will serve China in the long run... OTOH, Chinese are very good at reverse engineering.
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