EADS Astrium and Boeing to Cooperate in Satellite Navigation

Munich, Oct. 18/Satnews Daily/ — EADS and Astrium have signed an agreement to cooperate in the field of satellite navigation paving the way for the joint use of Galileo and GPS satellites with one and the same terminal unit in the future.
 

Under the first stage of the agreement, the two companies will jointly develop a computer model capable of simulating the mutual behavior of U.S. GPS navigation satellites and the future European Galileo system. This model will enable precise forecasts to be made of how changes to the overall system – for example, the launching of a new satellite – will affect users.
 

The agreement comes after U.S. and the European Union signed a cooperative agreement in June this year that governs, among other things, the previously disputed issue of radio frequencies and the joint use of Galileo and GPS satellites.

“Following the political agreement, we now want to cooperate at an industrial level in order to exploit the enormous benefits that will arise for users all over the world through the interaction of different satellite navigation systems,” said Evert Dudok, Director of Earth Observation, Navigation and Science at EADS Astrium.

The agreement is the first between EADS/Astrium and U.S. in satellite navigation sector and previews additional potential cooperation for both the Galileo and GPS programs.

“We consider international cooperation a vital element of our GPS program. The Interchanging of ideas and modes of operation, bodes well for the long-term mutual benefit of all participants,” said Mike Rizzo, director of Navigation Systems for Boeing Air Force Space Systems.

EADS Astrium is an important industrial partner for the development of the European satellite navigation system Galileo. The company is the largest shareholder in Galileo Industries, the company that is to take on the setting up of Galileo. EADS Astrium, as a subcontractor of Galileo Industries, will both play the leading role in the construction of the 30 Galileo satellites and implement parts of the ground infrastructure.

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