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GALILEO, SAFETY FROM SPACE
Rome - (Adnkronos Multimedia) - It is not a product like others - it cannot be purchased. But it will be widely used, even if only indirectly, by hundreds of millions of European citizens. And it is, at least for a major part, being elaborated, designed and constructed in Italy. This is the Galileo system, the new European Satellite Navigational System, which, starting in 2008 will revolutionise the remote control system over the entire continent. A constellation of 30 satellites is being assembled in Italy, just outside Rome, in the laboratories of Alenia Spazio (www.aleniaspazio.it), the company belonging to the Finmeccanica group, which over the course of a few decades has been able to make its mark also at an international level as one of the most reliable constructors of space systems. In fact, Galileo is not the only project for which Alenia Spazio has given a sizeable contribution. The 72 satellites of the Globalstar constellation, dealing with telecommunications, were assembled by Alenia. This company has also constructed major elements for the future International Space Station, as well as for the Integral, Rosetta and Mars satellites. Furthermore, the new European orbiting space infrastructure, aimed at monitoring our planet, was constructed by Alenia. Galileo, however, is perhaps the system which will bring about the greatest economic and industrial consequences.
It is estimated that the Galileo project, a result of the joint venture between Alenia and three European partners, Alcatel Space, Astrium and GSS, will generate the most favourable cost-benefit ratio ever reached in Europe for an infrastructure design. Sales of around 10 billion euro per year are forecast, facing overall costs of around 3.4 billion euro and resulting in an employment forecast for at least 150 thousand jobs, all of a high professional status.
Galileo will become the key element in mobility for individuals and for goods over the whole of the continent. The system will provide information and data on traffic flows, providing assistance during any type of movement whatsoever over European soil. The aim is to optimise the transport system on the continent, improving safety and significantly reducing its impact on the environment.
In the field of air traffic navigation, Galileo will lead to an enormous improvement in flight safety. The constellation of 30 satellites will work as a technological eye, scrutinising from above each small portion of the sky, and permitting a continuous contact between aircraft and the control towers on the ground. Similarly, Galileo will help in improving the safety of maritime transport, providing also an important support for the optimisation of shipping flows and better port management. It will also allow for a systematic control of rail transport through a monitoring of the position of any train in movement along the European rail network. Finally, direct use of the system also by individual citizens will be possible. With the use of a receiver installed on their cars they will be able to receive all kinds of information from the satellite, such as traffic conditions, route planning, emergency situations to be avoided.
Among the numerous services that the Galileo satellite constellation will make available, there is one which will arouse special interest. This is the plan for the so-called total guarantee of civil protection. This will be used by public administrations in all European states for the management of crisis situations, ranging from relief in natural disasters, emergencies, assistance in situations of danger, and coastal surveillance.
Therefore, Galileo represents a multifaceted system with many ramifications, which will guarantee improved safety and a better quality of life and of the environment. It will result in a significant reduction in costs which presently derive from the European transport system, both for people and for goods. And in fact it is Alenia, in the sphere of this international joint venture, which has taken on the task of validating and certifying the sy
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