Europe ’s long - awaited result to America ’s GPS , called Galileo , has in conclusion been flip-flop on this week after four fresh satellite follow online .
They were launchedlast calendar month , joining another 14 in orbit that had been launch over the preceding five years . They will now provide limited localization service for smartphones and in - cable car systems , with the full arrangement set to be useable in 2020 when the full accompaniment of 24 Galileo orbiter will be in orbit .
“ Today ’s announcement marks the passage from a test system to one that is operational , ” said Paul Verhoef , ESA ’s Director of the Galileo Programme and Navigation - related Activities , in astatement .
“ Still , much work remains to be done . The entire configuration necessitate to be deployed , the ground infrastructure demand to be complete and the overall organisation needs to be tested and verified . ”
The $ 11 billion political platform has faced severe delays since it was first conceived in 1999 , but is now up and running – in a archaic soma at least . Galileo is intended as a European counterpart to the successful US Global Positioning System ( GPS ) of 24 satellites .
How Galileo will cover the globe . ESA
The 24 Galileo satellite – each with an nuclear clock on board – compass at a acme of 23,000 kilometer ( 14,000 mile ) , and are pass by the European Space Agency ( ESA ) . The current 18 satellite will be assist by America ’s GPS satellite at first , but eventually it will extend a service that is more exact than anything on go today .
This will include keep down the amount of clip taken to place a person miss at sea or in the mountains from three hours to 10 bit . The signals will also be accessible from emplacement not possible today , include road tunnels and beside gamy edifice , reportedFrance 24 .
Galileo will ultimately thin geolocation precision down to 1 m ( 3.3 feet ) , compared to the several meters offered by GPS at the moment . It ’s intended to be useful for upcoming applied science like driverless cars , too .
