Navigation Satellites Over Europe

Snags writes "It looks like Europe is getting its own equivalent to WAAS (a set of ground stations and geostationary satellites which relay information to help GPS accuracy in the US). The EGNOS system system is having a base station inaugurated in Langen, Germany this week. The system augments signals from GPS and Russia's Glonass to provide 2-meter accuracy in Europe. This is the first stage of the Galileo system reported earlier, and I'm sure these satellites and base stations will perform the same function once the Galileo constellation is flying."

Comments

how to get a job there?

[DrStrangeLoop]

i am curious, what kind of skill set would be necessary to apply for a job there? i have a unix background, but no knowledge about astronomy/ space tech whatsoever [although i think the whole thing is rather interesting]. maybe someone in the /. community has some ideas on how to get into this industry?

Unless US blows it up....

[dackroyd]

Dupe post for dupe story....

Tragically we know how the US would like to react:
http://www.eetimes.com/sys/news/OEG20030522S0050

The nation's largest intelligence agency by budget and in control of all U.S. spy satellites, NRO is talking openly with the U.S. Air Force Space Command about actively denying the use of space for intelligence purposes to any other nation at any time not just adversaries, but even longtime allies, according to NRO director Peter Teets.

At the National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs in early April, Teets proposed that U.S. resources from military, civilian and commercial satellites be combined to provide "persistence in total situational awareness, for the benefit of this nation's war fighters." If allies don't like the new paradigm of space dominance, said Air Force secretary James Roche, they'll just have to learn to accept it. The allies, he told the symposium, will have "no veto power."

This would not go down to well at all. I know the US economy/military is the biggest in the world - but I still think that a trade war/shooting war with every other country in the world isn't the best way of improving the lives of American citizens.

How dependent is Galileo on US?

[ghoul]

Does anybody know how dependent the Galileo system will be on the US. I mean how many components will be manufactured in the states and will the states have export veto powers like it currently has on military equipment. For example when Israel wanted to sell radars to China they could not as some components were from US companies. Will the same apply to Galileo as in if the US decides some state like North Korea doesnt deserve GPS then will the Europeans be prevented from selling it ? Do note these decisions are a lot of times economic rather than related to national security. For example the states is pissed abt the russians selling Nuclear reactors to Iran not because these reactors can be used for weapons but because the contracts did not go to American companies and under current sanctions American companies cannot even subcontract for the Russians.
Or maybe Galileo is Europes way of getting out of exactly such a situation.
On a related note recently when India was evaluating Advanced Jet Trainers the two options were the British and the French but the French were favoured as they use no American components and are thus not hostage to American policy. India has suffered on this count earlier. India used to have a lot of Sea King helicopters produced by the British with American components but after the Nuclear tests the American prevented the British from supplying spare parts