Galileo demo sat to be despatched

[Rick]

Giove-B, the second demonstrator spacecraft for Europe's proposed satellite navigation system, is finally to be sent for launch.

The craft, currently held at a test centre in Holland, will be despatched to the Baikonur spaceport next week for a Soyuz flight in late April.

Giove-B will trial key technologies for the Galileo project, including the most advanced atomic clock to go into orbit.

Precise timing is one of the principal elements of any sat-nav system.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7278616.stm

[Rick]

Eleven industrial groups will compete for the contracts to build Europe's much-delayed satellite-navigation system, Galileo.

They were chosen from an initial list of 21 that had indicated an interest in participating in the project.

Galileo will rival but also complement the US GPS network.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7625357.stm

[Rick]

UK company SciTech Systems has swept this year's European Satellite Navigation Competition.

The competition honours the best ideas from small and medium enterprises that will make use of the Galileo satellite positioning system.

Galileo, Europe's biggest space project to date, will outperform existing sat-nav systems in coverage and precision.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7684027.stm