Galileo satellite navigation system goes out of service

by



[ad_1]

A Galileo satellite

Copyright of the image
Pennsylvania

The European satellite navigation system, Galileo, has suffered a major breakdown.

The network has been offline since Friday due to what has been described as a "technical incident related to its terrestrial infrastructure".

The problem means that all recipients, such as the latest smartphone models, will not collect any synchronization or usable position information.

These devices will instead rely on data from the US Global Positioning System (GPS).

Depending on which satellite navigation chip they have installed, mobile phones and other devices can also establish connections with Russian (Glonass) and Chinese (Beidou) networks.

The European GNSS Agency (GSA) on Thursday issued a notification warning users that Galileo's signals may no longer be reliable. An update was then sent Friday at 1:50 am, Central European Time, to indicate that the service was out of use until further notice.

The GSA said: "The experts are working to restore the situation as quickly as possible.An anomaly review committee was immediately set up to analyze the exact root cause and implement corrective measures."

Inside GNSS, a satellite specialty publication, said sources told him that the problem lay in a failure of a precise timing system (PTF) in Italy. A PTF file generates and sets the reference time against which all clocks in the Galileo system are checked and calibrated.

The function on the Galileo satellites that captures distress beacon messages for search and rescue is not affected by the failure.

What is Galileo?

  • A project of the European Commission and the European Space Agency
  • 24 satellites constitute a complete system but it will also have spare parts in orbit
  • 24 spacecraft are in orbit today; two others will launch next year
  • The initial budget was 3 billion euros but will now cost more than three times as much
  • Works alongside American, Chinese Beidou and Russian Glonass GPS systems
  • Promotes real-time positioning at one meter or less

Galileo is a multi-billion euro project of the European Union and the European Space Agency. The EU is the owner of the system and Esa plays the role of technical and procurement officer.

There are currently 22 operational satellites in orbit (two more are in space but are being tested), and another 12 are under construction with the industry. In addition to the satellite, Galileo relies on a complex terrestrial infrastructure to control the network and control its performance.

The European alternative to GPS has been put into service since December 2016, after 17 years of development. The European Commission promotes Galileo as more than just a rescue service. it is also presented as being more accurate and more robust.

A power outage across the entire network is therefore a major concern and not a problem.

Since its launch in 1978, GPS has become an integral part of the functioning of all modern economies.

The use goes far beyond simply making your way into an unknown city. The system synchronization feature is now ubiquitous in many areas, including the synchronization of global financial transactions, telecommunications, and energy networks.

[ad_2]

Source link