SES Subsidiary Enters Galileo Project Under Contract With SpaceOpal

[Satellite TODAY 11-15-10] SES subsidiary Astra TechCom Services has entered into a strategic Galileo partnership agreement with ground-based services provider Spaceopal, SES announced Nov. 12.

Astra TechCom Services will contribute engineering support to Spaceopal and take a leading role in the in-orbit testing of the Galileo satellites. Astra TechCom Services will work through its subsidiary, Redu Space Services, to utilize the Galileo IOT infrastructure in Redu to deliver this critical service. Furthermore, the Framework prepares the ground for the future development of the Galileo Data Distribution Network.

Spaceopal is a joint undertaking between Italian company Telespazio and German firm Gesellschaft für Raumfahrtanwendungen, which has been set up by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) to provide operational services for the Galileo system.

    The agreement between the two contract partners is encompassed in one of six Galileo Work Packages (WP6) identified by the European Commission and the European Space Agency (ESA) as necessary to develop Galileo’s Full Operational Capability (FOC). The WP6 Framework Contract is dedicated to preparation activities, as well as to all the operation services the fully deployed Galileo system requires. 

Galileo will be Europe’s own global navigation satellite system and will work to provide guaranteed global positioning services under civilian control. It will be interoperable with GPS and GLONASS, two other global satellite navigation systems.

ESA Galileo Program Director René Oosterlinck told Satellite TODAY Insider that everything is going well on the Galileo program, despite recent tension over the program’s budget. “From an ESA perspective the program is going well. The two satellites that are in orbit, GIOVE-A and GIOVE-B are working very well. GIOVE A has been in orbit almost five years. The behavior of the critical technologies on-board these two satellites is very good. There are always some small problems, but we are satisfied. Secondly, the signal generators are working very well. So, we can even transmit all the different signals which is excellent for validating the system.”

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