Giove-A was launched on a Soyuz rocket |
A new era in satellite positioning systems has begun with the launch of the first experimental satellite, Giove-A, from the Galileo satellite system into orbit on the morning of December 28.
The Giove-A satellite, weighing 600 kg, was launched into orbit aboard a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 11:19 AM local time (05:19 AM UTC).
Giove-A will demonstrate key technologies required for Galileo, Europe’s global positioning satellite system, which has a budget of €3.4 billion (approximately $4 billion) that Europe hopes to deploy by 2010.
Once fully deployed, Galileo will revolutionize positioning methods by using precise time and space signals from space.
“We aim to provide positioning accuracy within 1 meter at any point on Earth through the ‘open’ Galileo service system, rather than just local or regional positioning as is currently available,” said Javier Benedicto, the director of the Galileo project.
“By using three signals, we will enable positioning accuracy down to the centimeter, surpassing current services, and the European industry continues to research and develop these applications,” Javier added.
In the coming years, a small Galileo chip will be embedded in mobile phones, allowing users to locate restaurants, hotels, theaters, hospitals, and parking areas.
Operational model of the positioning satellite system |
A small Galileo chip will be embedded in mobile phones, enabling users to locate restaurants, hotels, theaters, hospitals, and parking areas |
This system will also provide effective tools for governments needing to monitor roadways; further strengthen Europe’s air traffic control system, allowing aircraft to maintain safe distances and enabling pilots to fly accurately along designated routes and altitudes.
Launched by Europe in 1999, the Galileo project aims to reduce the European Union’s dependence on the US Global Positioning System (GPS) and Russia’s GLONASS for strategic and economic reasons. The applications of this project are diverse, including equipping special vehicles, monitoring offenders with electronic tags, oil and gas exploration, and road planning.
According to experts, the improved measuring devices of Galileo will be ten times more accurate than existing devices. In the future, Galileo may also be used in conjunction with the 29 satellites in GPS. Scientists also hope to apply Galileo in research areas such as geostratigraphy and meteorology.
In the near future, countries such as China, Ukraine, and Brazil will fund this system.
TUONG VY