Consortia Combine To Run Galileo

[zavvy]

<b>Consortia Combine To Run Galileo </b><br /><br />LINK<br /><br />The rival consortia bidding to run Europe's satellite-navigation system, Galileo, have joined forces to win the multi-billion euro concession. <br /><br />The two groups, iNavSat and Eurely, were awarded the contract by the Galileo Joint Undertaking, the body set up to drive the project's early phases. <br /><br />Its constellation of 30 spacecraft should be in orbit by the decade's end. <br /><br />Galileo's technologies are designed to bring greater accuracy and reliability to navigation and timing signals. <br /><br />Part of this high performance will come from its ability to work seamlessly with the existing US Global Positioning System (GPS). <br /><br />The European Union expects the venture to create more than 100,000 jobs as sat-nav applications are run on more and more mobile devices. <br /><br />The test satellites are already under construction and the first spacecraft is expected to be launched on a Russian Soyuz rocket in December. <br /><br />The Galileo Joint Undertaking, set up by the European Commission and the European Space Agency (Esa), settled on a combined bid once the rival groups could show there were benefits for taxpayers in running with a larger, single consortium. <br /><br />'Better deal'<br /><br />"The joint offer contains substantial improvements compared to the separate offers that were on the table," commission vice-president Jacques Barrot said in a statement. <br /><br />"It foresees higher commercial revenues thanks to a concentration of the know-how of the two bidders," he added. <br /><br />The final contract will give the companies the right to operate Galileo for 20 years and reap the commercial gains from it. <br /><br />Analysts differ in their projections for the size of this revenue stream - but most foresee the Galileo-enhanced business - equipment and services - to be worth well in excess of 10 billion eu