Telespazio UK awarded ESA Contract for the Development of GNSS Vector Tracking Loops for Autonomous Vehicles

28 February 2023

Telespazio UK is excited to announce that it has been awarded a €600,000 contract by ESA, the European Space Agency.  As part of ESA’s Navigation Innovation and Support Programme (NavISP), Telespazio UK has been awarded the contract for the development of GNSS Receiver Vector Tracking Loops for Autonomous Vehicles (VTL4AV).

Telespazio UK is the prime contractor to ESA for the project and will be working with strong and expert sub-contractors, Cranfield University and Spirent Communications.

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) have become the primary means of navigation and source of Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) information for almost all modes of transport, general navigation and for timing purposes.

Yet, all GNSS are vulnerable to natural interference, deliberate and accidental jamming and spoofing. Moreover, because of the geometry of GNSS flying in Medium Earth Orbit and the number of satellites in the constellation, there are other issues.

Where users are operating in so-called “urban canyons”, or within dense vegetation, or in deep valleys for instance, they can have a limited view of the satellites and hence have trouble calculating a position.

 Clearly, this is unacceptable when operating a safety critical service, such as operating Autonomous Vehicles in public areas or when other safety parameters are paramount.

To tackle these challenging problems, the VTL4AV project will utilise the strong alliance and experience of our consortium to design and develop a Receiver implementing “Vector Tracking Loops” (VTL) techniques. It will also create a fault detection and isolation strategy to ensure integrity in urban environments, whilst supporting multiple GNSS constellations.

The benefits of this architecture will be demonstrated in both simulated environments and in a real environment such as the City of London where urban canyons, signal masking, interference and multipath can be expected.

“This is a great opportunity for us to be part of this important ESA project which will build on the work that has already been done within the Alternative-PNT arena, especially with new GNSS receiver concepts. We are pleased to be leading such a strong team and look forward to developing a proof of concept that will help provide position resiliency in vehicle autonomy, potentially making a difference to our daily lives in the future”.

Mark Hewer, Telespazio UK CEO

Other News & Stories

05.06.2025
Latin American Space Agencies Visit the Fucino Space Centre

Today Telespazio’s Fucino Space Centre hosted representatives from the space agencies of the IILA (Italo-Latin American Institute) member countries, as part of the IV Meeting of Space Agencies, organized in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency (ASI).

04.06.2025
Launch of the Honors Program at the Fucino Space Centre: training young talent for the space sector

The Honors Program of the Space Camp – Dai Banchi alle stelle project officially kicked off today at Telespazio’s Fucino Space Centre. The initiative, supported by the Fondo per la Repubblica Digitale – Impresa Sociale, is promoted by Italiacamp and developed in collaboration with Telespazio, Innovalley, and three high schools in the Abruzzo region: “Alessandro Volta” (Pescara), “Luigi Savoia” (Chieti), and “Ettore Majorana” (Avezzano), with scientific input from the British Interplanetary Society.

27.05.2025
European Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, and the Italian Minister for Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, visit Telespazio's Fucino Space Centre

The European Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, and the Italian Minister for Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, visited yesterday the Fucino Space Centre of Telespazio.

19.05.2025
At MAXXI Rome, the exhibition “Mediterranea. Visions of an ancient and complex sea”

From May 17 to August 31, the EXTRA space of the National Museum of 21st Century Arts (MAXXI) hosts the exhibition organized by Fondazione MAXXI and the Med-Or Italian Foundation, in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency, Telespazio, e-GEOS, and the European Space Agency. The project is promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Ministry of Culture.

05.06.2025
Latin American Space Agencies Visit the Fucino Space Centre

Today Telespazio’s Fucino Space Centre hosted representatives from the space agencies of the IILA (Italo-Latin American Institute) member countries, as part of the IV Meeting of Space Agencies, organized in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency (ASI).

04.06.2025
Launch of the Honors Program at the Fucino Space Centre: training young talent for the space sector

The Honors Program of the Space Camp – Dai Banchi alle stelle project officially kicked off today at Telespazio’s Fucino Space Centre. The initiative, supported by the Fondo per la Repubblica Digitale – Impresa Sociale, is promoted by Italiacamp and developed in collaboration with Telespazio, Innovalley, and three high schools in the Abruzzo region: “Alessandro Volta” (Pescara), “Luigi Savoia” (Chieti), and “Ettore Majorana” (Avezzano), with scientific input from the British Interplanetary Society.

27.05.2025
European Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, and the Italian Minister for Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, visit Telespazio's Fucino Space Centre

The European Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, and the Italian Minister for Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, visited yesterday the Fucino Space Centre of Telespazio.

19.05.2025
At MAXXI Rome, the exhibition “Mediterranea. Visions of an ancient and complex sea”

From May 17 to August 31, the EXTRA space of the National Museum of 21st Century Arts (MAXXI) hosts the exhibition organized by Fondazione MAXXI and the Med-Or Italian Foundation, in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency, Telespazio, e-GEOS, and the European Space Agency. The project is promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Ministry of Culture.