Comment Re:Improved accuracy? (Score 1) 360
On the ESA website some more info is given:
"...the military operators of both systems give no guarantee to maintain an uninterrupted service."
European independence is the chief reason for taking this major step. However, other subsidiary reasons include:
By being inter-operable with GPS and GLONASS, Galileo will be a cornerstone of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). This system will be under civilian control and will allow high accuracy positions to be determined for most places on Earth, even in high rise cities where buildings obscure signals from satellites low on the horizon. This is because the number of satellites available from which to take a position will rise to nearly 90 compared with about 50 now.
By placing satellites in orbits at a greater inclination to the equatorial plane than GPS, Galileo will achieve better coverage at high latitudes. This will make it particularly suitable for operation over northern Europe, an area not well covered by GPS.
With Galileo, Europe will be able to exploit fully the opportunities provided by the satellite navigation market. The aerospace industry, companies manufacturing receivers and businesses providing services using satellite navigation will benefit from the increased business. A study into the economic impact of Galileo puts the up-front cost of the project at about Euro 2,900 million, but the return over 20 years in terms of equipment sales and the provision of value-added services at Euro 90,000 million"
from http://www.esa.int
"...the military operators of both systems give no guarantee to maintain an uninterrupted service."
European independence is the chief reason for taking this major step. However, other subsidiary reasons include:
By being inter-operable with GPS and GLONASS, Galileo will be a cornerstone of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). This system will be under civilian control and will allow high accuracy positions to be determined for most places on Earth, even in high rise cities where buildings obscure signals from satellites low on the horizon. This is because the number of satellites available from which to take a position will rise to nearly 90 compared with about 50 now.
By placing satellites in orbits at a greater inclination to the equatorial plane than GPS, Galileo will achieve better coverage at high latitudes. This will make it particularly suitable for operation over northern Europe, an area not well covered by GPS.
With Galileo, Europe will be able to exploit fully the opportunities provided by the satellite navigation market. The aerospace industry, companies manufacturing receivers and businesses providing services using satellite navigation will benefit from the increased business. A study into the economic impact of Galileo puts the up-front cost of the project at about Euro 2,900 million, but the return over 20 years in terms of equipment sales and the provision of value-added services at Euro 90,000 million"
from http://www.esa.int
