Slashdot Mirror
Europe's Galileo Program In Serious Trouble
elrous0 writes "Various news outlets are reporting that Europe's Galileo program is facing a serious financial and technical crisis and may be permanently stalled. The European program, designed to be a superior answer to the US's GPS — and, more critically, not controlled by the US — has faced numerous hurdles since its inception. To date the Galileo program has succeeded in launching only one of its 30 planned satellites and has been beset by delays and cost overruns. Apparently, squabbling between the eight companies in the consortium behind the project is responsible for many of the problems. The project is now threatened with an EU takeover. But some doubt that even an infusion of EU capital can save the flagging program."
As I said, I personally think it's undesirable to rely on the US-controlled system. You can take this as an anti-U.S. rant or not; what it comes down to IMHO is that we need a system under our own control, not something that can be yanked from under our feet if it proves inconvenient to our allies. Well said, I agree with your post.
I understand the EU desire for independence from the US but it isn't cheap. The US still spends $750 million per year just to keep GPS running. It would seem like a bargain to just keep using our system. But, I guess if your goal to is to create social work programs for your citizens then reimplementing every industry is a good idea.