Aircraft position data as obtained by Galileo-only receiver during a Netherlands test flight. |
Now the first aerial tracking using Galileo has taken place, marking the first time that Europe has been able to determine the position of an aircraft using only its own independent navigation system. The milestone took place on a Fairchild Metro-II above Gilze-Rijen Air Force Base in the Netherlands at 12:38 GMT on November 12. It was part of an aerial campaign overseen jointly by ESA and the National Aerospace Laboratory of the Netherlands, NLR, with the support of Eurocontrol, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, and LVNL, the Dutch Air Navigation Service Provider.
A pair of Galileo test receivers was used aboard the aircraft, the same kind
employed for Galileo testing in the field and in labs across Europe. They were
connected to an aeronautical-certified triple-frequency Galileo-ready antenna
mounted on top of the aircraft.
Tests were scheduled during periods when all four Galileo satellites were
visible in the sky – four being the minimum needed for positioning fixes. The
receivers fixed the plane’s position and, as well as determining key variables
such as the position, velocity and timing accuracy; time to first fix;
signal-to-noise ratio; range error; and range–rate error.
Testing covered both Galileo’s publicly available Open Service and the more
precise, encrypted Public Regulated Service, whose availability is limited to
governmental entities.
Flights covered all major phases: take off, straight and level flight with
constant speed, orbit, straight and level flight with alternating speeds, turns
with a maximum bank angle of 60ยบ, pull-ups and push-overs, approaches and
landings.
They also allowed positioning to be carried out during a wide variety of conditions, such as vibrations, speeds up to 456 km/h, accelerations up to 2 g horizontal and 0.5–1.5 g vertical, and rapid jerks. The maximum altitude reached during the flights were 3000 meters.
NLR’s Fairchild Metro-II has previously performed initial European GPS testing in the 1980s, and the first tests of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service, EGNOS, which sharpens GPS accuracy and monitors its reliability over Europe for high-accuracy or even safety-of-life uses.
Fairchild Metro-II aircraft used for Galileo airborne testing. |
They also allowed positioning to be carried out during a wide variety of conditions, such as vibrations, speeds up to 456 km/h, accelerations up to 2 g horizontal and 0.5–1.5 g vertical, and rapid jerks. The maximum altitude reached during the flights were 3000 meters.
NLR’s Fairchild Metro-II has previously performed initial European GPS testing in the 1980s, and the first tests of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service, EGNOS, which sharpens GPS accuracy and monitors its reliability over Europe for high-accuracy or even safety-of-life uses.
The definition and development of Galileo’s in-orbit validation phase were
carried out by ESA and co-funded by ESA and the EU.
The Full Operational Capability phase is managed and fully funded by the European Commission. The Commission and ESA have signed a delegation agreement by which ESA acts as design and procurement agent on behalf of the Commission.
The Full Operational Capability phase is managed and fully funded by the European Commission. The Commission and ESA have signed a delegation agreement by which ESA acts as design and procurement agent on behalf of the Commission.
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