Galileo should go ahead
Today SSTL issued a statement following the publication of “Galileo: Recent Developments" report and the ensuing debate about the future of Europe's planned satellite navigation system. It welcomes cost benefit analysis and most of all competition at all levels of the project.
Galileo satellite GIOVE-A
SSTL estimates the cost of building and launching a 12 satellite constellation to be approximately €600M. This compares favourably with other costs being floated and reflected in the committee’s report. In other words, a useful system could be put in place for a small fraction of the total cost for deployment mentioned in the report.
MPs have called for a review of Galileo and SSTL Business Development Manager Phil Davies has agreed with calls for review (see The Guardian). In fact, speaking on Radio 4's Today Program with guest Gwyneth Dunwoody on Monday, Davies reiterated the benefits of European involvement and stated that the prospect of a working satellite navigation system in the immediate future is entirely realistic. He also agreed with Dunwoody that a "flying pig" (gold trotters or not) approach to budgets was innappopriate and that the barrier to lower cost lies in the procurement process and not the technology.
