Skip to main content

Indra expands Galileo ground stations

Technology company Indra is to expand the ground segment of the European global positioning system, Galileo, in a contract worth US$8.2 million awarded by company Airbus Defence and Space in the UK, under a programme funded by the European Union. The contract includes a new telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C) station, together with maintenance and development of TT&C stations until 2016.
June 16, 2015 Read time: 1 min

Technology company Indra is to expand the ground segment of the European global positioning system, Galileo, in a contract worth US$8.2 million awarded by company Airbus Defence and Space in the UK, under a programme funded by the European Union.

The contract includes a new telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C) station, together with maintenance and development of TT&C stations until 2016.

The new station in Papeete will enhance Galileo's ground segment so that it can assume the control of a constellation of satellites that will grow from eight currently in orbit to 30 satellites in 2020, upon the system's completion.

Indra has already implemented the current network of TT&C and uplink stations which manage the satellites of the Galileo system. The ground stations, together with the control centres in Germany and Italy, are the ground segment's key components. This network of stations supports critical services, such as search and rescue or aerial and marine navigation aid services.

Related Content

  • December 5, 2013
    Terrestrial solution to stellar shortcomings
    Inherent weaknesses in satellite communications are leading several countries to re-evaluate terrestrial-based backup systems. There is a tale frequently told in satellite navigation circles, of how landing systems at Newark Airport were disrupted by a truck driver using GPS jamming equipment as he drove along the New Jersey Turnpike. While there was no threat to flight safety as the interference to GPS reference stations being tested, the story highlights how apparently benign threats have the potential t
  • October 24, 2012
    European Space Expo lands at ITS World Congress
    A curious looking white dome has appeared alongside the Messe centre as the European Space Expo reaches Vienna and the ITS World Congress, the latest stop of its tour of Europe. The Space Expo is essentially promoting and providing information on Europe’s space programme, much of which has direct relevance to ITS systems of tolling, goods tracking and satellite navigation, among other things. According to the Expo’s head of communication Donna Reay, in previous years the European Union has exhibited to indu
  • December 16, 2014
    Do satellites provide a heavenly view of tolling’s future?
    Satellite-based tolling opens up new options for authorities and can be integrated with DSRC systems as David Crawford discovers. As the proud custodian of the European Union (EU)’s longest road network covered by a single (truck) charging scheme – and the only one to include all major roads - Slovakia has become the continent’s poster-nation for the virtues of GNSS/CN (Global Navigation Satellite System/Cellular Network)-based tolling. It is also proved to be a very fast implementer. Speaking at the 2014 I
  • August 1, 2014
    Galileo commercial service on track
    The results of early proof of concept tests (EPOC) carried out by the Authentication and Accurate Location Experimentation with the Commercial Service (AALECS) show that the EPOC team has successfully tracked the encrypted Galileo E6-B and E6-C signals broadcast by Galileo satellites. As a result, the commercial service loop has been closed using both encrypted and non-encrypted signals. The tests are the result of a collective effort involving teams and projects of AALECS, supported by the European Comm