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Second Galileo Test Satellite Now in Orbit
Simon (S2) writes to mention that Europe's second Galileo navigation satellite reached orbit this past weekend. Galileo is promising to offer several technological advances in comparison to the US-based GPS system but no longer promises to be a guaranteed service. "The Galileo programme now seems certain to go ahead, after a prolonged and painful shift from partly-private financing of the construction to public funds taken from unspent EU farm subsidies. This money would normally have been returned to donor nations, with the UK, Germany and the Netherlands as the biggest three. London MPs have expressed doubt as to whether the UK will receive value for the money it will pay, but have acknowledged that the British government doesn't actually have any choice about Galileo under EU funding rules."
Wow! They are up to two satellites? Does this mean I can tell which hemisphere I'm on?
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Why London's MPs? What's so special about them?
There are 645 MPs in the UK, of which only 74 are in London. Quite why they should be supposed to have some special insight into Galileo or farming subsidies is beyond me.
--- These are not words: wierd, genious, rediculous
Wouldn't it be better to just send some more GPS satellites instead? Do we really need another new standard?
London MPs have expressed doubt as to whether the UK will receive value for the money it will pay, but have acknowledged that the British government doesn't actually have any choice about Galileo under EU funding rules.
Don't have any say???
As if EU members needed any more reasons to disband their borderline-organized-crime overlords, I'd say that aught to push any holdouts over the edge.
Using extorted farm subsidies, for an already-failed space program (Galileo specifically - I don't mean to condemn the entire ESA), with the actual funding nations having no recourse?
Daaaaaaaamn!
Simple: as far as English politics is concerned (and UK politics to a lesser extent), once you pass outside the M25 you enter a deserted wasteland which extends as far as the Channel, the North Sea and the Irish Sea (or possibly the Atlantic, but no Londoner has ever travelled that far to check).
On the other hand, I wouldn't tell them. Just keep quiet and maybe they won't interfere with your life too much.
People keep on criticizing the U.S. ethanol program as the reason for people to be starving in Africa. (Which is far from the truth. With much of the famines in regions like Africa being due to corruption, mismanagement and violent warlords.)
:P
But now we know the real culprit for their starvation. Our good friends in Europe decided rather than spending millions on growing food and encouraging the farm industry so as to feed the world's poor.
They took those monies and instead blew it on a series of satellites that are essentially redundant to the one's America already launched into space. By the time E.U. launches enough satellites to have a full fledge system it will have expended a global fortune and led to the deaths of thousands and thousands in Africa who could have benefited from the food grown via the farm subsidies.
So, pretty soon we will have three "gps" major systems out there. But hey, China still does not have one - so #4, here we come...
Its so sad that it is necessary to have that many systems doing pretty much same thing. With each needing a few dozen birds - it's getting crowded up there...
-Em
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Instead of starting a new system from scratch, they could have made it an extension to GPS. Imagine better altitude detection, less ionosphere interference. Good thing those farm subsidies went to good use.
At least according to the German Wikipedia page on Galileo, it actually is compatible to GPS.
Does anyone know where I can find the technical specifications for this positioning system? It would be cool to build a receiver. (I realise it wouldn't be of much use until more satellites are up.)
Swedish plasma phys. PhD student; MSc EE; knows maths, programming, electronics; finance interest; seeks opportunities
I'll be dead by then.
Galileo, and the lack of dependence on a single country, is a fantastic idea. I suppose you think that the EU should give up control of it to the UN also. It's at least closer to an international effort.
If you want a vision of the future, imagine a youtube comments section scrolling - forever.
And Why I am supposed (as a non US citizen) to trust the US military that they will really do this again ? From a country which decided that they can ignore the international treaties they signed ? Sorry but in view of the last 6 years, all I can think is "Yeah. Right.".
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Did I say "give navstar to the UN" ? No. I did say that I don't trust the US military to really give up the possibility of degrading signal completely. I am suggesting that the last 6 years proved the US government is not to be trusted by its allies, because it certainly did not seem to respect the treaties it signed, and invaded countries of ground of really flimsy evidence (not to go in the controversy on liquid explosive, torture, or even gitmo). I am suggesting that whatever the US government or military says, 3.5 billion is certainly a cheap price to buy independence from them, how they act or whatever tell-tale they say. NOWHERE did I say I have right on navstar. You can still use your GPS if you want. Me on the other hand I wait impatiently for Galilleo to be set up, with more precision and independence from the US. To each his own. But don't tell I pretended I want to get the GPS/Navstar system out of the cold dead hand of the US, I did NOT.
C. Sagan : A demon haunted world:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345409469/
visit randi.org
Now other than Europeans have done nasty stuff too, but taking over 3 continents (not mention completely fucking at least half of a fourth, Africa), that must be at the top of the chart!
SA was disabled in 2000 explicitly as a last attempt to cancel Europe's imminent decision to go ahead with Galileo. Funny how we forget things that were obvious at the time...
Herve S.
The second link explains how the main contractor, EADS, just bought their smaller rival SSTL (a much smaller company that succeeded in lanunching the forst Galileo sat years earlier than the parallel-developed EADS one).
I like how EADS monopoly is described: "continental aerospace behemoth"...
they are also described in a recent post on slashgeo, http://technology.slashgeo.org/article.pl?sid=08/04/24/1328256&from=rss
-1 Troll
Worth every bit of it too. It's just nice to be able to hurl some crap toward my European friends now and then. Knock them off their high horse.
(Of course, us American will continue riding our pigs. So don't get me wrong. I fully admit and acknowledge that we are flawed.)
IF (U.S.A. sends food to Africa){
AfricanFarmers = "Unemployed";
U.S.A. = "Evil";
LocalCorruptionFactor = 0.986
QuantityArrived = QuantitySent - (QuantitySent*LocalCorruptionFactor)
}
ELSE (U.S.A. !send food to Africa){
U.S.A. = "Evil";
}
IF (E.U send food to Africa || E.U. !send food to Africa){
E.U. = "Good";
}
America is damned if we do, damned if we don't in the eyes of Europe. But then again, we have little respect for peoples who wear Speedo's at the beach.
I think it'd have made more sense to collaborate on the GPS system. But maybe the U.S. gov was not to keen on such policies. I do not know.
That said, I am very tongue-in-cheek on this because we've been getting all this crap about corn used for ethanol. And that supposedly causing the price of grains to skyrocket.
What really is causing grain to skyrocket is that a decade ago we were paying about a $1/gallon in gas. Now, we're paying up to $4/gallon. Most of the cost in grain food production is fuel for farm machinery and transport.
Hence, increase in prices.
That the #1 issue causing starvation is terror. Warlords and corruption in Africa prevents aid from reaching the needy and prevents economic growth.
The correct general term for what you call GPS is GNSS - Global Navigation Satellite System.
"the ongoing tirade of jokes about fat, ignorant Americans is beginning to wear on me, and could very well be construed as outright racist."
Dude,
A couple of things.
1) "American" is not a race, it is a nationality. Somebody being an *asshole* doesn't make them racist. Remember free speech? Remember what America stands for? You should be able to say what you want? Hello?
2) The thing about being an American, a real American, is that you don't give a f*ck about what somebody from Europe, especially somebody from Europe thinks. I'm not just talking bravdo, it simply should occur to you that you care about what somebody from "other lands" thinks about you.
3) In any event, you would never whine about how you are angry that somebody is *saying* about you. And even if somebody tries to *do* something to you, you hit them hard enough that they realize it was a poor decision on their part to start a fight with an American.
4) You can be helpful, courteous, and kind in the meantime.
If you can't follow those rules, you'll have to move out of the country. Preferably to France or Belgium. Unless you're a woman....nah, American women are tougher than you, too. Never mind. Just get out. Please. --- Note "courtesy" part.
Because, at the moment, europe doesn't have a GPS. Now, when there is one, will America cede their GPS and stop it, giving control over to Europe for positioning systems?
No.
So why the bitching about europe getting their own up?
For some reason, it's a common habit among some people to use the name of a nation's capital to refer to the government or part of the government of said country. Thus, you'll see "Washington has stepped up inspection of cargo" used instead of a more accurate yet clumsy "The US Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Boarder Protection has stepped up inspection of cargo."
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If the state has the power to seize control of property from its citizens for the greater good of all, why shouldn't the the UN be able to exercise the same authority over it's member nations? Clearly, such items as the GPS, the Internet, and the Panama Canal, which have such far reaching global economic impact, should not be left in the hands of a single nation's government.