Brussels, 28/12/2005 (Agence Europe) - Satellite 'Giove-A' has been launched to demonstrate key technologies needed for the sat-nax (satellite navigation) system Galileo, explained Galileo officials on 28 December. The 600 kg spacecraft was sent into orbit on a Russian Soyuz rocket from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, initiating a new era in EU satellite navigation. The EU hopes Galileo will give its independence in space-borne timing and location services independent of the United States' GPS system, which the EU hopes Galileo will compete with. The technology is planned to be used for air traffic control, shipping and also, at a later date, car navigation systems.
With total investment of EUR 3.8 bn, the fully-fledged Galileo constellation is made up of 30 satellites, mostly for civilian use. It should make it possible to revolutionise the way price timing and location signals from space are used. Galileo is a public-private partnership an the European Commission hopes two-thirds of funding will come from the private sector, with the remaining third from EU Member States. The Galileo consortium is made up of European aeronautics company EADS, UK companies Immarsat, Italian company Finmeccanica, French companies Thales and Alcatel, Spanish companies AENA and Hisparat and a company controlled by Deutsche Telekom and the German aeronautics centre.
On 28 December, French foreign minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said Galileo was a scientific success story ensuring EU industrial and technological independence. He said that the head-quarters of the Galileo consortium would be in Toulouse, France, meaning that France was central to the project.