Q&A: Europe's Galileo project

Q&A: Europe's Galileo project
By Jonathan Amos
BBC News science reporter

Europe is building its own satellite-navigation system called Galileo. BBC News looks at why such a network is deemed necessary when we already have the US Global Positioning System (GPS).

What is Galileo?
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Like Airbus and the Ariane rocket programme, the new sat-nav system will assert Europe's independence. It will give EU countries guaranteed access to a service that is currently provided by a foreign (US) power.

GPS is a military-run programme; its signals can be degraded or switched off. Yes, the service is free, but its continuity and quality come with no guarantees - which means it cannot be relied upon, certainly not for safety-of-life applications such as landing planes and controlling trains.

Galileo will be a civil system. It will be run by a private consortium and will offer guaranteed levels of service.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4555276.stm

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Can't blame the rest of the world for deciding they can't count on the US. They know the GPS system can be cut off for any or even no reason. The EU is asserting it doesn't need the US. Good for them. If we were real friends to the EU, the EU wouldn't feel the need to do this.

and I don't blame them. :-(

..running this country, I wouldn't trust the USA to bring me a Donut.

matter who owns it. No one wants to have the guidance for their weapons turned off.

GPS is currently used in 7 body jets in addition to RLG navigation systems. GPS is used by surveyors and maritime navigation with extreme precision. GPS can be managed by regions.

They are just selling a weapon system to their public.

Nothing wrong with that.

and finding to where you want to drive your car. It has war applications but is NOT solely a warfighting system. The whole point here is that the rest of the world doesn't trust it's old and former friend, the United States of America. I for one don't blame them one bit. The United States is now a rogue country that no one, especially Americans, can trust.

It is first a war fighting system. Period. Just as our highways are transport systems for our military.

Then, it is also a consumer nicety, where applicable.

I have several applications that use GPS, however I would not be the least bit surprised if the government decided that I was no longer entitled to its data.

it's not really a case that the EU doesn't trust the US. It's a very accurate (<1 metre) civil system and you don't need military clearance to get a high accuracy.

Systems like GPS that the whole world has now come to depend on shouldn't be solely controlled by any one entity. This'll be like a redundant system...plus it'll prevent all the potential abuses that a monopoly could give rise to. Sort of off topic but I hope that this move will also give momentum to creating another internet network that's been talked about - again, so that not one source can have full control (in this case, free flow of information).