First the pandemic, then the attack by Russian troops on Ukraine: The construction of the European satellite navigation system Galileo has been delayed once again. Firstly, because the Esa space agency is the Russian Soyuz– Missile no longer used due to sanctions against Russia. But also the first launch of the new launch vehicle Ariane 6 stretches out further. Although there are initial Galileo services, including a search and rescue service, a number of satellites are still missing in the constellation for full use of the system.
This puts the ambitious plans of Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton at risk. He wanted to present the new Galileo 2.0 as quickly as possible: more precise, faster, safer, more expensive, much better than the American GPS. At the beginning of last year, Breton pushed ahead with the second Galileo generation in order to get the first improved satellites into space as early as 2024 – although not even the full constellation of generation 1 is in orbit.
Galileo satellite in Kourou: Last year, two satellites were launched with “Soyuz” rockets, but that’s no longer possible.
(Photo: P Baudion/ESA-CNES-Arianespace)
Because the Bremen-based manufacturer OHB is still in the process of building the last twelve satellites of the first generation. Only two of them are in orbit. Two more are because of Soyuz-Boycotts stranded at launch site in Kourou/French Guiana. They have now been brought back to the manufacturer OHB in Bremen, where they can be stored properly. Because for their transport is now the Ariane 6 necessary, which, however, will not take off for the first time until the end of 2023 at the earliest.
Galileo 2.0 is a long time coming.
Who in any case in time for a start of the first Galileo-2 satellites in 2024, these are the two future manufacturers Airbus and Thales Alenia Space (TAS). You have in the past year from the Commission were awarded the contract to build six satellites of the new Galileo generation. OHB got nothing this time. The total volume for the first twelve new satellites: 1.47 billion euros. For the money, the two companies should build a real powerhouse that is fundamentally different from the previous ones Galileo-Satellites differs. From the outside alone, the aircraft weighs around 2.3 tons and is significantly heavier than the 730 kilos of the first generation. In addition to larger, controllable antennas, the satellite also has innovations under the hood: more precise atomic clocks, larger batteries, solar generators, additional signal amplifiers, electric drives – all of which affect the weight.
The second Galileo generation should make autonomous driving easier
All in all, Galileo 2.0 should be more flexible, be able to communicate between the satellites and thus provide users with greater accuracy with faster signals on their smartphones and be better protected against interference signals. “The second generation of Galileo satellites is more robust, more reliable and cyber-secured,” says the Franco-Italian company TAS. According to the Commission’s specifications, an accuracy of around 20 centimeters should be possible in the future instead of in the meter range, which is particularly important for autonomous driving. “The position signal is definitely getting better for automatic driving,” says German Airbus CEO Space Systems, Andreas Lindenthal. Airbus is also working on solutions that also enable location determination in buildings. Last but not least, automatic landing of aircraft is to be improved in aviation.
Airbus and Thales Alenia Space are building the first twelve satellites for the second generation of Galileo.
(Photo: Airbus)
Sovereign services should also benefit from a special service: With Galileo 2.0, the fire brigade and emergency services should be able to pinpoint exactly where they are. This is also important for search and rescue, which can be used to locate people who have had an emergency beacon. In the future there will also be a new emergency warning service that can alert users in affected regions via smartphone in the event of an impending disaster or attacks.
The twelve new satellites cost almost 1.5 billion euros
According to Lindenthal, Airbus wants to build the Galileo-Use satellite modules that have proven themselves in telecommunications satellites. Such components would make the system cheaper and are designed for a service life of 15 to 20 years. Construction of the satellites is scheduled to begin in spring at the Airbus factory in Friedrichshafen. About 200 aerospace engineers will be employed there. The payload is to be installed at the Airbus subsidiary Tesat in Backnang.
In any case, Airbus should not fail to ensure that the 2024 start date envisaged by Breton for the second generation can be met, says Lindenthal. “We have an order volume of around 700 million euros for the two development and four follow-up satellites, and replicas will then be cheaper.” For comparison: a Galileo satellite used to cost around 40 million euros. Airbus has experience with Galileo: predecessor company Astrium also had the first four Galileo-First generation satellites built, three of which are still in service.
According to Thales Alenia Space, the order volume amounts to 772 million euros, and construction is to take place at several locations. The new Galileosatellites would also “strengthen the competitiveness of EU industry in the area of technology, which is so important for the sovereignty of the EU,” according to TAS. The group benefits from the Galileo program, among other things, from the fact that it was the main contractor for the ground infrastructure of the first Galileo generation.
Of the 28 satellites launched to date, only 23 are fully operational
Even if the manufacturers deliver on time, the question remains to what extent the changeover to the second Galileo generation can take place as quickly as EU Commissioner Breton had imagined. The Commission has not commented on this, but it has been heard from Brussels that the Galileosecond-generation satellites are to be launched, “as soon as Arianespace completes the launches with the new Ariane 6 However, the Esa space agency sees this differently. The primary goal is to first achieve full operational capability with the first generation. And only then to start building the second generation, says Esa Director for Navigation, Javier Benedicto. However, Galileo is only fully operational “when two or four additional satellites (of the first generation) are in orbit”.
The Bremen-based space company OHB has built a total of 32 first-generation Galileo satellites.
(Photo: OHB)
The next old GalileoAccording to the current status, satellites will probably start in the first half of 2024 at the earliest, because the Ariane– According to Esa, the first flight is out of the question. However, there may be a faster solution: Commission circles refer to talks with the launch service provider Arianespace in order to at least reduce the time gap somewhat. And Esa manager Benedicto is now also talking about “non-European start options”, a decision should be made in the first half of the year. This launch option could be the Falcon 9 from Elon Musk’s company Space-X, especially since Esa also wants to use them for other missions. “Ariane 6 is our preferred option,” assures Benedicto. However, it will take even longer before the second generation is actually in use: According to Benedicto, four to eight new satellites will have to fly for this.
Otherwise, things are going bumpy as usual for the European project worth billions, which has been delayed for years anyway. Of the 28 satellites launched so far currently only 23 are fully functional. Two are in wrong orbits, and another three are out of service, partly because of problems with the atomic clocks. The most recent outage has lasted since late August. According to the Esa space agency, a defective atomic clock is currently being examined on the satellite. Thus, around ten years after the first Galileo launches, the European Commission still does not have the planned constellation of 30 satellites: eight each in three orbits at an altitude of 23,200 kilometers and six flying replacement satellites.