First Galileo contracts awarded

Tom Young, Computing, Thursday 7 January 2010 at 16:19:00

Logica and Inmarsat come away empty handed

The European Commission has announced the first contracts in the development
of an EU GPS satellite system, with the first services forecast to begin
operation from 2014.

The Galileo project aims to develop a network of 30 satellites that will give
EU countries an independent GPS network ? currently most devices in the region
use the US GNSS system.

The ?85m contract for system support services has been awarded to Italian
firm ThalesAleniaSpace. It covers the industrial services needed to support the
European Space Agency for the integration and operation of the Galileo system.
This includes assembly, system engineering, and in-space testing.

OHB System AG of Germany won the ?566m contract for the first 14 satellites,
with the provision of the first satellite in July 2012. One satellite is
expected every 90 days thereafter, with the last one scheduled to be delivered
in March 2014.

The remaining satellites will be procured in subsequent work orders, either
from OHB or EADS-Astrium GmBH depending on who wins the tender.

French firm Arianespace won the ?397m contract for launch services. The
contract covers the launch of five Soyuz launchers, each of which will carry two
satellites. The first launch is scheduled for October 2012, followed by four to
five launches per year.

The contract also contains options for either two additional Soyuz launches
carrying two satellites or one Ariane 5 carrying four satellites.

UK firm Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) were part of the OHB
consortium, but other UK firms Logica and Inmarsat will be aggrieved to have
lost out on such lucrative contracts.

The remaining three procurement contracts, for the ground mission
infrastructure, the ground control infrastructure and the operations should be
awarded by mid-2010.

Antonio Tajani, European Commission vice-president in charge of transport,
said: "With this and the upcoming awards for the remaining procurement packages,
we are concluding a critical phase of the Galileo programme. We can now focus on
the actual rollout and demonstrate to European citizens that Europe?s own
satellite navigation system is firmly underway."

The Galileo scheme came close to being scrapped in 2007 when private
companies pulled out.

EU member-states had to agree to fund the entire project from the public
purse ? about �5bn. The full cost to the UK taxpayer is unkown, though it is
expected to be around �1bn.

Full story at http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2255781/first-galileo-contracts-awarded