· GPS monopoly challenged by new satellite network
· China snubs America to be involved in project
Ian Sample, science correspondent
Tuesday December 27, 2005
The Guardian
At 3am tomorrow morning a Russian Soyuz rocket is set to streak into
the skies over Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan carrying a satellite
that is purpose built to break one of the most ubiquitous monopolies
on Earth.
If all goes according to plan, the rocket will soar to a height of
14,000 miles before releasing Giove-A, a wardrobe-sized box of
electronics, into orbit. Once in position it will gently unfold its
twin solar panels and begin to loop aroundtheplanettwiceeachday.
In doing so, Europe's most expensive space project, a rival to the US
military-run global positioning system GPS, will have taken its first
step.
Giove-A is a test satellite that paves the way for a network of 30
more to be launched in 2006 and beyond. Together they will form
Galileo, a £2.3bn global positioning system more reliable and
accurate than GPS.
Galileo has been hailed in Europe as a means to make money. The
highly accurate tracking system means road charging could be
automated, air traffic monitored with unprecedented precision and
goods tracked to people's doors. With mobile phones due to include
satellite-positioning receivers, emergency calls will be traced to
within a metre. If industry embraces Galileo, it could drive a
multibillion euro market, say experts.
But Galileo is largely a political project, aimed at asserting
Europe's independence. Although GPS is free and ubiquitous, it is
optimised for America and the accuracy of the system can drift by
more than 30ft. GPS is controlled by the US military which has the
power to degrade or switch off the signal at will. Because Galileo
will be a highly accurate civilian system run by a private
consortium, supporters believe it will usher in a new range of safety-
critical services, such as aircraft and emergency vehicle guidance
systems.
Richard Peckham of EADS Astrium, a partner in the project, says that
the Galileo network is being launched at a time of increasing
dependence on satellite positioning systems. "Car satellite
navigation systems seem to be this year's top selling Christmas
gadget," he said. "It is becoming an intrinsic part of life."
With Galileo, services that can position goods, people and vehicles
to within three feet will be possible. While ramblers might make do
with the free signal, emergency services could use an encrypted, more
accurate signal to guide ambulances, fire engines or police cars to
their locations with unprecedented precision.
Mike Dillon of ESYS, an electronics company involved in the project,
says that ultimately Galileo could be used for automatic road
charging, and improving safety on Europe's roads by warning drivers
of accident blackspots, junctions or curves in the roads. "Right now
there are around 1.3bn accidents causing 40,000 fatalities each
year," he said. "That's the equivalent of two jumbo jets full of
passengers crashing every day."
Although the European Space Agency is forbidden to take part in
military projects, officials accept that once the signals are being
broadcast the defence industry will undoubtedly take advantage of
them, and develop devices that can operate with both GPS and Galileo.
According to plans, the Galileo satellites will be launched into
orbit eight at a time. There they will form three rings around the
Earth, with the full cluster of 30 due to be in place and working by
2010.
Giove-A, which was built in a record two years and three months by
Surrey Satellites, is crucial to Galileo's success. The satellite
must be in orbit and transmitting useful positioning signals by July
2006 to meet a deadline set by the International Telecommunications
Union (ITU). If the deadline passes and no Galileo signals are being
broadcast from space, the European Space Agency will lose permission
to use the frequencies and the project will be knocked back to the
drawing board. With more than €130m (£89m) invested, missing the
deadline is an outcome the British government will not be keen to
witness.
If the launch is successful, news that the satellite is working is
likely to come from Chilbolton Observatory in Hampshire early on
Wednesday morning. Scientists at the observatory will use a 25m
receiving dish to hunt the heavens for signals from Giove-A as
evidence that it reached the right orbit and powered up.
A failed launch will not necessarily mean the end of Galileo. A back-
up satellite, which carries more new technology than Giove-A is on
standby for launch to meet the ITU deadline.
Since its inception the Galileo project has been marred by disputes
over financial contributions within the EU and rows with the US over
the frequencies Galileo satellites would broadcast on. Military
officials in America initially raised strong objections to Galileo
because one of its signals was on a frequency close to the encrypted
military signal used by US forces.
Their objections centred on the argument that if the US wanted to
deny satellite positioning services to other countries they were in
conflict with, they would have to jam Galileo's signal, but in doing
so risked jamming their own. Under intense pressure which nearly saw
the Galileo project scrapped entirely, the EU backed down and moved
the frequencies Galileo will broadcast on. The US also balked at
China's signing of a multimillion pound contract to be part of the
Galileo project.
The launch tonight has special poignancy for engineers at the firm
behind the satellite. It carries its own unusual cargo, a plaque
inscribed with the name of Tom Fairbairn. The 25-year-old engineer
worked on the probe at Surrey Satellites, a university spin-off
company, until his life was cut short by the tsunami that struck the
shores of the Indian Ocean on Boxing day last year.
Mr Fairbairn died with his parents when waves battered Khao Lak in
Thailand where they were holidaying. "We hope the plaque will be a
fitting tribute to Tom," said Phil Davies of Surrey Satellites.
Footnote
GPS The US network is the most popular global satellite positioning
system in the world. GPS satellites broadcast signals which, when
picked up by a device on the ground, can show a user's location to
within 10 metres or so. The Russian Glonass system and Europe's
fledgling Galileo project work in the same way.
Test satellite Giove-A will not be part of the final 30 satellites
that make up the Galileo network. It will try out new technology
developed for the project and ensure that the European Space Agency
claims the frequencies reserved for Galileo.
Encrypted GPS and Galileo have signals that anyone can pick up free
of charge, but they also broadcast more reliable and accurate
encrypted signals that have to be unscrambled. To use the US military
GPS signal, US and allied forces must use special decryption
software. The same signal is used by satellite-guided missiles.
European Space Agency Supported with money from member states, the
ESA is embarking on ever more ambitious forays into space. The ESA is
not allowed to fund military projects. To some, that position is
compromised by the surety that Galileo will be exploited by the
defence industry.
search: