SSTL wins new Galileo contract
Last week it was announced that SSTL and its German partner OHB System AG have won a contract to build the next 8 satellites for the EU’s Galileo satellite navigation programme.
Prime contractor OHB will be constructing the satellites and SSTL will assemble, integrate and test the navigation payloads in its new Kepler facility in Guildford.
CEO of Arianespace Jean-Yves Le Gall, Universities and Science Minister David Willetts, Executive chairman of SSTL Sir Martin Sweeting and Vice president of the EC in charge of Industry and entrepreneurship Antonio Tajani
The contract was announced in London by Antonio Tajani, Vice President of the European Commission in charge of Industry and Entrepreneurship. SSTL’s Executive Chairman Sir Martin Sweeting and CEO Matt Perkins were joined at the event by Universities and Science Minister David Willetts and members of the European Space Agency (ESA).
This contract builds on SSTL’s nine years of experience with the Galileo project. The consortium is currently working on the construction of 14 satellites for the constellation the first of which are due for completion at the end of this year.
SSTL Executive Chairman, Sir Martin Sweeting
SSTL’s payloads are based on European-sourced atomic clocks, navigation signal generators, high power travelling wave tube amplifiers and antennas and will provide a system that is interoperable with both the American GPS system and the Russian GLONASS system.
The contract announcement is not the only recent development in the Galileo system. On January 27th the Czech government signed an agreement with the European GNSS Agency (GSA) for the headquarters of the Galileo system to be moved to Prague later in 2012.
Also Arianespace, the company in charge of launching the Galileo satellites, signed an agreement last week with ESA announcing the possibility of using Ariane 5 launchers to deploy Galileo satellites after 2014. Ariane 5 launchers can carry 4 satellites at a time while the Soyuz rockets currently used for Galileo carry 2.
Executive chairman of SSTL Sir Martin Sweeting, CEO of Arianespace Jean-Yves Le Gall, CEO of OHB-System AG Marco R Fuchs, Chairman of OHB-System AG Professor Manfred Fuchs, Vice president of the EC in charge of Industry and entrepreneurship Antonio Tajani and Universities and Science Minister David Willetts
SSTL is proud to be playing a pivotal role in Europe’s next generation satellite navigation programme. Follow our blog to find out more about SSTL’s involvement!
The Full Operational Capability phase of the Galileo programme is managed and fully funded by the European Union. The Commission and ESA have signed a delegation agreement by which ESA acts as design and procurement agent on behalf of the Commission. The views expressed in this blog can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union and/or ESA. “Galileo” is a trademark subject to OHIM application number 002742237 by EU and ESA.
This entry was posted by Robin Wolstenholme on Wednesday, February 8. 2012 at 09:42.
and is filed under In the news.
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