Today at 12:30 in Brussels, the EC announced that the SSTL and OHB-System team has been selected by ESA to supply 14 navigation satellites for the deployment phase of the Galileo satellite navigation system in a deal worth 560m Euro.

The two companies agreed to work together as a “core team” on Galileo at the end of 2007, with OHB taking the role of prime contractor and builder of the spacecraft “bus” and SSTL taking full responsibility for the navigation payloads onboard the satellite that will form the heart of the Galileo navigation system.

SSTL Group CEO Dr Matt Perkins is delighted with the news:

The award of this contract is an important step for SSTL. Our satellites are already providing operational services for many government and commercial customers and we are pleased to have a major role within Europe’s flagship Galileo programme. The experience gained on GIOVE-A will help us to ensure the contract will be a success for the EC and ESA. This programme will also help to establish SSTL as a provider of communications and navigation satellites into other markets.

It was champagne all round at SSTL in Guildford as the news was announced, warming spirits despite worst snow for 30 years affecting the local area.

A jubilant SSTL’s Executive Chairman, Sir Martin Sweeting, added

This award is great news for the UK space industry and once again confirms SSTL as a world leader in sophisticated satellites and payloads, building on its 25-year history pioneering small satellites with 34 already launched, truly changing the economics of space.

The first Galileo satellites produced under this contract will be launched from 2013. To help improve the overall schedule the team was authorised by the EC and ESA to initiate the procurement of long lead items for the full system during 2009 which will enable the team to make a quick start towards an operational Galileo constellation.

Continue reading "Green light for Galileo satellites"

SSTL is celebrating the 4th anniversary of the launch of its historic GIOVE-A satellite today. As the first of the Galileo In Orbit Validation Element satellites, GIOVE-A was the first step in Europe's visionary Galileo satellite navigation programme when it was launched on December 28th 2005.

During the past 4 years, SSTL and GIOVE-A have contributed significantly to the testing and validation of technologies vital to the now imminent operational constellation of satellites. The 660 kg GIOVE-A satellite was built by SSTL for ESA in just 30 months at a cost of just 28m Euros.

SSTL CEO Dr. Matt Perkins commented

SSTL is proud of its involvement with the Galileo programme and the continuing success of GIOVE-A. This mission has clearly demonstrated the effectiveness of SSTL’s small satellite approach for the delivery of operational missions.

GIOVE-A was the first part of the in-orbit validation programme for Galileo, broadcasting the first signal to successfully secure the critical Galileo frequency filing with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) at 17:25 GMT on the 12th January 2006. This was a significant achievement for SSTL having commissioned the necessary systems to achieve this broadcast in just 3 weeks.



On the 2nd May 2007 GIOVE-A successfully transmitted the first Galileo navigation message from space, containing the information needed by users' receivers to calculate their position using the future Galileo satellite navigation service. These signals have since been used for signal quality testing and for equipment manufacturers and the scientific community to validate prototype Galileo receivers.

Throughout the past 4 years, the satellite has provided valuable data about the Medium Earth Orbit which the Galileo constellation will occupy, helping to characterise the radiation environment and validating subsystems such as an atomic clock and the Galileo signal broadcasting payload.

In July and August this year, GIOVE-A was gradually moved to a higher orbit to ensure that it does not cross the operational Galileo constellation’s orbits when the first operation satellites are launched in 2012. The satellite has been in orbit for 21 months beyond its original 27 month mission design life and continues to provide critical data to all of the ground users experimenting with Galileo navigation signals

SSTL, together with its partner OHB-System of Bremen, Germany form the core team of one of the two consortia bidding for the operational satellites. The final proposal was delivered to ESA in November and the outcome of the evaluation process is awaited. To help improve the overall schedule the team was authorised by the EC and ESA to initiate the procurement of long lead items for the full system earlier this year. The British space pioneer looks forward to continued success supporting the European Space Agency (ESA) and the EC with the expertise it has gained and its cost effective and reliable approach to satellite and subsystem design and manufacture.

On October 15th and 16th, the great and the good will descend on Brussels to discuss the future of the European Space Policy. The conference, which is named “The ambitions of Europe in Space” will address Europe’s most ambitious programmes: GALILEO and GMES and their prospective benefits to technology, industry and society.

Prominent guests will include President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, the President of the new European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, and the President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Philippe Maystadt. Several others European leaders, such as Vice-Presidents Antonio Tajani and Jacques Barrot, or Jean-Jacques Dordain, General Manager of ESA also confirmed their participation.

Conference organiser Business Bridge Europe (BBE) will bring together European Institutions, national and local public authorities, R&D centres, manufacturers and everyone interested in meeting and discussing space policy, space systems’ applications and their financing.

On the 15th SSTL CEO, Dr. Matt Perkins will deliver a keynote speech about “The external dimension of the space authority: the example of Africa” alongside other industry representatives. The following day, DMCii Managing Director, Dave Hodgson will join other remote sensing experts from ESA and industry to discuss “Environment, Energy, Home Land Security and Agriculture”.

Continue reading "GALILEO and GMES headline EU space conference"

Gaileo is turning out to be a hot topic at this year's Paris Air Show. On the 15th June ESA and Arianespace signed a contract for the launch of the first four operational Galileo satellites on two Soyuz launch vehicles from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Also this week, ESA and the OHB/SSTL consortium signed a contract for sourcing long-lead items for Galileo satellites.

The Galileo In-Orbit Validation (IOV) Launch Services Contract covers the launch of the first four operational Galileo satellites using two Soyuz launch vehicles that will lift off from the Guiana Space Centre (Centre Spatial Guyanais – CSG), Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

This new development follows the successful launch of the GIOVE-A satellite which was built by SSTL and the GIOVE-B satellite which was to be built by the European Satellite Navigation Industries satellite consortium and ultimately completed by Astrium. Both satellites have provided a great deal of data, for example helping with with clock characterisation, Galileo signal testing and in understanding the radiation that future Galileo satellites such as the new IOV satellites can expect in Medium Earth orbit (MEO).

The signature of the IOV Launch Services Contract in Paris marks an important milestone for the Galileo programme as it progresses towards the operational deployment of the satellites of the Galileo satellite navigation system. The four IOV satellites will be placed in a circular orbit at an altitude of MEO of 23 600 km by the end of 2010. Development of the Galileo system is being carried out under a joint ESA/European Union programme.

The launch vehicle chosen to carry the four Galileo IOV satellites into orbit is the Soyuz ST-B with a Fregat MT upper stage, which has been adapted for the deployment needs of the Galileo programme. The Soyuz at CSG Programme is an ESA Programme with co-funding of Arianespace and the European Union.

Galileo operational constellation
Meanwhile, ESA and the bidder consortium led by OHB-System AG and Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) have signed a contract for sourcing long-lead items for satellites for the future European Galileo navigation system in Paris the same week. The EUR 10 million contract is carried out under a program initiated and funded by the European Union.

Through this contract, OHB and SSTL are able to place orders for satellite technologies which require considerable lead times for development and sourcing ahead of the award of the actual contract for the construction of the satellites. The Galileo System customers, the European Union and the ESA, are thus ensuring that the schedule for implementation of Galileo can be maintained.

OHB and SSTL are one of two consortia bidding for the development and con-struction of 28 satellites for Galileo. By allowing two consortia to build spacecraft for this significant undertaking, ESA is ensuring that the full operational capa-bility can be put in place as soon as possible and at best value to the EU. The system is to be fully operational by 2013 following full contract signature later in 2009.