The Galileo satellite navigation system - the European counterpart to the US Global Positioning System GPS - is at its developing stage using the utmost of technology. DNV is currently chosen to study a Galileo certification regime.
Since ancient times, people have looked to the stars to find their way. Today, satellite navigation is continuing this tradition, offering users instantaneous and a highly accurate way to establish their position.
As new technologies enable new products and services, it will become increasingly necessary for individuals to ascertain their precise position in space and time. And before long, the Galileo satellite radio navigation system will become an integral part of the everyday life of Europeans. Indeed, the system will be used in mobile phones, air traffic management, car and maritime navigation, public services, safety and environmental management, and many other applications.
Satellite navigation is advanced technology originally developed for military purposes. Now commercially available, this technology enables anyone to instantly and accurately determine their position in time and space, so long as they have access to a receiver capable of picking up signals emitted by a constellation of satellites.
Today, satellite navigation users in Europe have no other alternative than to utilise GPS or GLONASS, satellite systems operated by the US and Russian military. About 15 years ago, the EU saw the need for Europe to have its own system - one independent but compatible with the GPS system. Galileo will be under civil administration.
The 30 Galileo satellites will provide global coverage and cost about 3.2 billion Euro to deploy. However, advocates estimate the total commercial benefits of the system over a 20 years period will be about 74 billion Euro. During this period, Galileo will enable a broad range of everyday applications and by some estimates, create more than 100 000 new jobs.
Certification regime
It was early recognised that the process should be guided by an appropriate certification regime to build confidence among service providers and Galileo users that the system could be used in safety critical applications.
"A certification regime was seen to be a competitive edge to meet market demands and to ensure a swift introduction of Galileo in the presence of GPS," says technical officer in charge of Galileo certification activities, Eric Chatre. "Standards and certification are key to Galileo market penetration."
Given its overall objective of safeguarding life, property and the environment, combined with its certification expertise, DNV was eager to contribute to the Galileo project, says Narve Mjos, head of DNV Space Activity.
A consortium was set up to address the standardisation and certification issues. DNV was chosen to lead the certification related part of the project, and last year the recommendations were presented to the European Commission, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the industry.
"Galileo is a complex system with a long lifetime targeting a multiple community of users," Chatre says. "With so many parties involved, there were many challenges, but no unexpected ones."
The main challenges are the establishment of an adequate certification organisation with sufficient independence and the elaboration of suitable requirements.
Together with the rest of the consortium, which consisted of Airbus, Alcatel, Isoscope, German Aerospace Center, Thales and European Satellite Services Provider, DNV was awarded a new contract to further develop the certification scheme towards local augmentation systems and the applications "air" and "sea". Kick-off for this project was in January 2004.
"Then the next stage will be the implementation phase," says Eric Chatre.