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.

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.

The Galileo team here at SSTL have been presented with an award by the European Space Agency (ESA) that acknowledges the successful GIOVE A mission and its outstanding contribution to the success of the Galileo programme. The award was presented by Didier Faivre of ESA’s Galileo Directorate to Elizabeth Rooney of SSTL at an event held at the European Space Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, The Netherlands, on 13th October 2008.

SSTL was contracted into ESA’s Galileo programme in 2003, when it began building the first GIOVE test bed satellite as part of the Galileo In Orbit Validation Element (GIOVE) of Galileo. The satellite was rapidly built and launched before the end of 2005. Since then the company has been actively involved with the in-orbit testing of GIOVE-A and, more recently, GIOVE B, launched in April 2008.

Last month, SSTL together with its German partner OHB-System was downselected by ESA and the European Commission (EC) as one of two potential suppliers of satellites to the Galileo operational system to be deployed by 2013.

SSTL’s Commercial Director, John Paffett said:

The GIOVE programme clearly demonstrated the benefits of dual-source supply, SSTL's GIOVE-A was designed, built and tested in a rapid 28 month schedule which allowed Europe to claim the ITU frequency filing. Without GIOVE-A, ESA would have lost the rights to the entire Galileo system. Dual source supply is also important in ensuring that the operational Galileo system is available as soon as possible and at the lowest final cost to the taxpayer. The long term benefit of a competitive supply base for Galileo satellites should not be underestimated.

Paffett also believes that market forces will also give Galileo the required boost to develop satellite navigation equipment:

Galileo has a lot to offer the satellite navigation marketplace, whether it’s landing planes or simply providing reliable navigation in the mountains. The possibilities are endless but it won’t happen until the equipment manufacturers see a working constellation in space. The sooner this happens, the better.

SSTL’s second Galileo contract, GIOVE-A2, has progressed through a successful Critical Design Review (CDR). The small satellite is a follow-on mission to the successful GIOVE-A mission launched two years ago.

The two-day CDR meeting, attended by ESA representatives at SSTL’s headquarters in Guildford, reviewed the design changes between GIOVE-A and GIOVE-A2. The next stage in the project will progress towards manufacture.

ESA awarded the follow-on contract to SSTL in March 2007. The project covers initial activities leading to the construction of a further spacecraft for the Galileo satellite navigation system, based on SSTL’s proven GIOVE-A technology.