EU's satellite system to fi ne-tune GPS

The European Union launched a free satellite navigation network that could help pilots, drivers and blind people by fi ne-tuning the accuracy of the US GPS to around 2 meters. The EGNOS system will use three satellites and 34 ground stations to narrow the horizontal accuracy of GPS from around 7 meters previously and improve its vertical accuracy to help pilots during landings. Farmers could also benefi t from improved precision for spraying fertilizers, and new applications could emerge on roads, such as automatic tolling and pay-per-use car insurance. The system was pioneered by the Commission, the European Space Agency and aviation safety authority Eurocontrol. www.reuters.com

EGNOS Open Service Operational Capability

The European Commission (EC) expects to declare operational use of the Open Service of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) in October, marking the start of its exploitation phase. This milestone signals the maturity of the development and qualifi cation of EGNOS. For several months, EGNOS has demonstrated excellent signal quality throughout Europe, with augmentation of GPS reaching accuracies of 1 to 2 meters at an availability level greater than 99%, according to the EC. The EC will state upon Open Service availability in October that this level of performance is available, that it is here to stay for the long term, and that it can be used for free. The service is accessible to any user equipped with a GPS/SBAS compatible receiver within the EGNOS Open Service area in Europe. No authorization or receiver- specific certification is required. This opens the doors for receiver manufacturers and for application developers to benefit from the performance improvements offered by EGNOS, at no additional cost. www.ec.europa.eu

GIOVE-A satellite orbit raised

GIOVE-A, the fi rst Galileo test satellite in orbit, has been moved to a higher orbit to ensure that it does not cross the operational Galileo constellation's orbits for more than 100 years. Launched on 28 December 2005 from Baikonur, with an expected lifetime of two years, GIOVE-A is still in perfect condition after almost four years in space. During that time, it has achieved all of its objectives. It has validated key technologies, such as the new rubidium clocks, and all elements are working largely as expected. It has secured the Galileo frequency fi lings with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), facilitated the experimental reception of navigation signals from Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) - using two transmission channels in parallel - and transmitted data to characterise the MEO environment using two different radiationmonitoring instruments. www.esa.int