Posted on 12/28/2005 11:57:41 AM PST by Jordi
MOSCOW, Dec 28 (Reuters) - The European Union launched its first Galileo navigation satellite on Wednesday, moving to challenge the United States' Global Positioning System (GPS).
Russian space agency Roskosmos said the 600 kg (1,300 lb) satellite named Giove-A (Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element) went into its orbit 23,000 km (15,000 miles) from the earth after its launch on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur cosmodrome in the middle of Kazakhstan's steppe.
"The launch of Giove is the proof that Europe can deliver ambitious projects to the benefit of its citizens and companies," said EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot in a statement.
The 3.6 billion-euro ($4.27-billion) Galileo programme, due to go into service in 2008 and eventually deploy 30 satellites, may end Europe's reliance on the GPS and offer a commercial alternative to the GPS system run by the U.S. military.
"Radio-navigation based on Galileo will be a feature of everyday life, helping to avoid traffic jams and tracking dangerous cargos," Barrot said.
The GPS is currently the only worldwide system offering services ranging from driver assistance to search-and-rescue help. Critics say its services for civilians offer less precision than those for military or intelligence purposes.
Galileo's accuracy in positioning is to be one metre (3 feet) or less, while the GPS's precision is more than 5 metres.
EU officials also say Galileo would never be switched off for strategic reasons, which might be the case with the GPS.
If successful, the satellite will mark a major step in Europe's biggest ever space programme, involving firms such as European aerospace giant EADS, France's Thales (TCFP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) and Alcatel (CGEP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) , Britain's Inmarsat (ISAT.L: Quote, Profile, Research) , Italy's Finmeccanica (SIFI.MI: Quote, Profile, Research) and Spain's AENA and Hispasat.
SYMBOL OF SUCCESS?
Galileo's critics say it is an unnecessary exercise in political grandeur, which is unlikely to be commercially viable, as GPS is free of charge and will soon be upgraded.
But advocates point to its future role in Europe's new air-traffic system and plans to integrate it with mobile telephone services, which should provide ample business opportunities.
Like aircraft Airbus, Galileo could be become a symbol of success that Europe needs at a time of economic stagnation of political rifts.
The system will be organised as a public-private partnership, with the Commission wanting two-thirds of the funding to come from industry and the rest from public coffers.
Galileo, which is developed with the help of several non-European countries including Ukraine, Israel and China, will create about 140,000 jobs in Europe, EU officials say.
The European Union and the United States clinched a deal last year on making Galileo compatible with the GPS.
Washington had been initially unhappy about Galileo, saying it could pose a potential security threat as its signals could interfere with those of the next-generation GPS.
The Giove-A satellite will test key new technologies such as on-board atomic clocks, signal generators and user receivers. The second, Giove-B satellite is to be launched in the spring. (Additional reporting by Marcin Grajewski in Brussels)
The ion drive was tested in space on the Russian Zond probe wasn't it?
Again, as I said before take your delusion of European greatness somewhere else, and you seem more French to me than German because you have a very twisted logic of arguing points.
One satellite is only a start. When the whole constellation is up, the next generation of American GPS will also be up. What will count is whether receivers will use one or the other or both, whether the Chinese are involved or not, and that depends on permissions and licenses and which manufacturers dominate the market.
Jordi take a look at this post # 37 by dead.
Hmmm. Well, what are you counting as the European space programme? I mean, Europe was first into space. Europe had the first satellite (Sputnik). First man in space etc. These were pretty big achievements. I think so anyway.
Take a look at post # 37 by "dead". The US used the ion engine back in 1998!
Its good news for anyone that owns a GPS, more precision, stronger signal and all that.
I just wish that the GPS signal could penetrate about 100 feet of water, it would make my terrible scuba navigation one less thing to worry about.
I am talking about the EU space program and not the Russian space program.
Some of the Zond probes tested experimental ion engines as actuators of the attitude control system that kept the craft oriented properly.
They were not used for propulsion.
Goddard experimented with the ion motor in the 20s.
LOL...
The FIRST time a terrorist or an avowed enemy of the USA uses a Galileo based system for precision attack or bombing, we'll splash their system.
Regarding the missing Beagle, the orbiter that was part of that mission is returning fantastic science, and it looks like they found the Beagle, it may have landed on the side of a crater, which is tough, but it was programmed to land in a much more difficult area than our rovers did.
Plus, we have lost our share of landers.
My grandpa told me
Yes you can. Prez. Bush says in 2018,if they all do the things right. Excuse me, you can't blame the rest of the world if the US has forfeited its early advantage in space activities. Others countries carefully avoid displeasing the US but I fell free to mock at your exibition of (past) grandeur.
Is that all you got?
It' Christmas time. One should be generous.
It was programmed to land near the south pole IIRC.
As for driving to difficult stuff, Opportunity has travelled 4 miles in 2.5 years, at this rate it could get to where Beagle was in about 900 more years or so.
Why are you threatened by the ESA doing science?
Its quite illogical of you.
The Zond probes were in the sixties (but as another poster points out, they were used for positional thrusters only)
And the same can be said for your 'delusions or greatness'. Europe and US are are interlinked by history. Remember the father of the US space program was Wernher Von Braun.
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