Fergie's Tech Blog

Galileo Spacecraft Picks up GPS Satellite Signals

Will Knight writes on NewScientistTech:

Europe's experimental navigation spacecraft GIOVE-A has picked up signals from several Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites, a novel achievement that completes its primary mission objectives.

GIOVE-A was launched in December 2005 and has now tested several crucial technologies that will be used by Galileo, the European Union's fleet of navigation satellites. The rest of the constellation should be launched by 2010 giving Europe an alternative to the GPS satellite positioning system, which is operated by the US military.

By flying GIOVE-A, which is about the size of a microwave oven, the European Space Agency also secured its use of the radio frequencies allocated for Galileo by the International Telecommunications Union. The allocation would otherwise have lapsed later in 2006.

posted by Fergie @ 6/02/2006 06:45:00 AM