German companies will receive additional work on Europe’s Galileo program, under an agreement reached Dec. 5 among European companies involved in the project. The latest agreement, signed by the eight European companies that form the concessionaire, calls for a consortium of German companies to be added to the satellite navigation project.

Under the agreement, Inmarsat will have overall management of the newly formed Galileo Operations Co., which will be responsible for the Galileo and EGNOS global network operations. The headquarters for the Galileo Concessionaire would be located in Toulouse, France, while operations will be based in London. The two control centers, along with a pair of performance evaluation centers, will be located in Germany and Italy. Spain will host facilities that will serve as backups for the primary control centers, as well as provide safety applications.

The concession partners will now work on finalizing the concession contract with the Galileo Joint Undertaking.

The launch of the first Galileo test satellite is scheduled for Dec. 26, with a second spacecraft slated for launch in early 2006. The first of four operational satellites is scheduled to be launched in 2008.