SANSA Selects GMV to Help South Africa Improve Navigation Capabilities
By Jeffrey Hill | July 16, 2012
[Satellite TODAY 07-16-12] GMV has been selected to lead a satellite navigation project in collaboration with the South African National Space Agency (SANSA), the company announced July 13.
The SBAS Awareness and Training for South Africa (SATSA) project aims to increase the technological navigation capacity in the South African region and to improve location identification and tracking capabilities during emergency or disaster situations.
The SANSA program forms part of the European Commission’s 7th Framework Program (FP7) and is set to run for 18 months, during which GMV will install testing platforms in South Africa for conducting practical tests.
“GMV’s track record in the field of satellite navigation prompted the European Commission and the South African National Space Agency to entrust GMV with this project for laying down the bases of EGNOS deployment in South Africa,” GMV Executive Director of GNSS Miguel Romay said in a statement. “GMV’s knowledge and experienced team of professionals positions GMV as a leader in navigation systems and various global navigation satellite system applications, enabling GMV to become a pioneer in the use of GPS, GLONASS and EGNOS signals.”
GMV said the first training session was held in May at the SANSA Space Operations Minitrack training facility and dealt with the basic aspects of satellite navigation. The next training session is being held this month and the testing period will be conducted from February through April 2013.