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Essay: "Which benefits do you expect to personally draw from Galileo?"

We are writing the year 2020. Reinhard T. has just got lost on the way from his office to the cafeteria - again. When will he remember to take his Galileo wristband with him anywhere, any time?

- just one of many possible future applications of Galileo.

What is the difference between the future European Galileo Satellite System and the existing US GPS?

Galileo is NOT a military project! Nor is it intended to be. Unlike its American counterpart, the Galileo Satellite System is designed as a positioning system for civilian use. Although some "security authorities" (e.g. police, military) will also use the system, it is only under civilian control and won't be used for any military campaign against another country. I sincerely hope that Galileo will never be a tool for the purpose of destruction!

When it's finished the Galileo Satellite System will be the state of the art positioning system available which will provide greater precision to all its users than any of its competitors. This can be achieved through more satellites (27 instead of 24) and modern technology. Galileo will consist of 27 (+3 spare) satellites in 3 different orbits. They will supply the Open Service customers with positioning data with an accuracy of less than 4 metres horizontally and less than 8 metres vertically. This data is offered for free on two frequency bands but for a fee an encrypted third band can be received which will bring down the accuracy to less than 10 centimetres (!).

Additionally Galileo provides the so called "Safety of Life" Service which warns the user if the signal accuracy drops below critical levels. This SoL service is intended for safety-critical transport applications (sea-, rail- & air-traffic control, automated aircraft landing, aso.).

Well, so what do we need Galileo for? We have already got GPS...

But GPS isn't enough! Europe needs its own positioning system, so that we are not depending on an unreliable system, which can be shut down from one second to the other by the US military. The European Union is a Union not unlike the USA, so to me it is quite logical that we should operate our own, independent satellite positioning system.

And in a way we all benefit from it; besides the obvious use for Galileo, the project will create more than 100,000 new jobs and the production and maintenance of receivers will generate approximately 9 billion Euros per year.

Which of the services that Galileo will offer might be of personal interest to me?
I think that through Galileo the use of satellite navigation will experience its breakthrough in the everyday life of the Europeans, and so in mine too...

On the one hand I will most likely use the Open Service for a variety of activities, for example for satellite aided hiking tours in the mountains, travelling or even finding my way to the right door in a building...who knows, what we will be able to do with this new technology... fact is that it opens us the doors to all new purposes of use...let's see what the future brings...

On the other hand I might get involved with Galileo on a more professional basis. As my aim is to work in science or space travel I might either use the system in my future job or I might be working on the Galileo team myself.

Even tough Austria is just one of many countries contributing to the Galileo system, Austria's leading space industry company "Austrian Aerospace" provides a significant piece for the test-satellites: the central signal generator. Since the first tests have been successful, further inquires for this part are being expected.

Galileo is an opportunity for us to gain more international recognition for our excellent work in space industry!

But the Galileo system is more than just a "positioning system" - (to me) it is some kind of symbol of international cooperation. Just look at it! Galileo is more than a European project: countries around the world decided to contribute to the venture.

For example the People's Republic of China, Israel, Ukraine, India, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and even South Korea joined the team and even more want to join it!

I think Galileo is a good example for future space programmes - if we want to explore space, we ought to do it as ONE...not as many nations ... and not because of military purposes but just because we want to learn more about the universe and all the wonder that might be out there...