Galileo ready to start

[Skybird]

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...549401,00.html

the first satellite of the new system with a resolution of 4 m is to be launched this weekend. the complete satellite network is planned to go online in 2013.

the only major criticism is that 8 European major space and hightech corporations were unable to come to a deal on how to finance and build it themselves - the EU had to step in and give the needed money from unused funds. Now being trapped in the boat this way, the European taxpayer will need to come up with the unavoidable and to be expected rises in costs, too - projects like this never work with the projected costs and previous estimations, but almost always tend to blow the calculations, because these are done with overly optimistic variable settings. And reality only rarely plays nice with exaggerated optimism.

The system will be far more precise than the American GPS-1 and planned GPS-2 (2015) system and the Russian system, but not as precise as the later-planned GPS-3 (2021), which should have a resolution of 2m, says the little infographic in the article.

[Linton]

What is the point?The US system is free to use.The EU will probably charge a user fee.What a waste of EU money(again)

[PeriscopeDepth]

Originally Posted by Linton

What is the point?The US system is free to use.The EU will probably charge a user fee.What a waste of EU money(again)

I'm guessing they don't want to be dependent on a US controlled system, especially the military. Other countries who have bought into the program seem to have the same concern (India, China, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and others).

PD

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Linton

What is the point?The US system is free to use.The EU will probably charge a user fee.What a waste of EU money(again)

It's about prestige, technological demonstration, business interest and market shares (the higher precision is an argument for some economic branches), independence from the US system which in case of an american war can be degraded or switched off with a fingersnip from Wanshington no matter what users worldwide think of that, and greater precision. GPS-1 has a resolution of 16 m, the Russian system 57-70 m, Galileo has 4 m. The US plans to update to GPS-2 with a resolution of 6 m until 2015, with GPS-3 planned for 2021 with a resolution of 2 m. For the time being, Galileo will be the most advanced system.