GALILEO, THE EU’S LARGEST TECHNOLOGY PROJECT

Telespazio is Finmeccanica’s reference company for navigation and localisation services, a role also based on its contribution to the development and deployment of Galileo , the European satellite navigation programme that will be implemented through the launch of a constellation of 30 satellites.

Galileo is the European satellite navigation system developed jointly by the European Union and the European Space Agency, and is the largest project ever conceived by the European institutions. Galileo will provide the basis for a range of applications and services dedicated to a variety of sectors, including road, air, rail and sea transport, telecommunications, Earth mapping and cartography, gas/oil exploration and mining.
Particular focus will be on Public Regulated Services, security and defence applications, such as the protection of ports, airports, railway stations and other critical infrastructure, as well as other important civil protection and rescue services for people and vehicles in danger or a state of emergency.

Galileo’s infrastructure comprises space, ground and user segments. The space segment comprises a constellation of 30 satellites that orbit the Earth at a distance of around 24,000 km on three distinct orbital planes (10 satellites each), inclined at 56 degrees to the equatorial plane. In reality 27 satellites will be operational (nine for each orbital plane), while the remaining three will be in reserve, ready to become operational in the event of a malfunction of one of the operating satellites.

The ground segment plays a central role in the entire system, as it contains Galileo’s true intelligence.
Its main tasks are to monitor the space segment, checking that it is functioning correctly, and to generate data to send to final users.
Three elements make up the ground segment in terms of physical architecture:

- the two Galileo Control Centres
- the remote stations, which are spread around the world (five for telemetry and telecontrol, ten for the up-link of mission data and 29 GSS sensor stations that receive the signals from each satellite);
- the communication network that connects these to the GCCs.

The user infrastructure consists of all the various types of signal receiver and everything involving the final users (the public, companies and the PA).


Galileo Test Range: Italy's contribution to the development of satellite navigation

Services and Innovative Applications

Where are we today?


Brochure Galileo

Brochure Galileo (ITA)