PARIS (AP) -- The first
satellite in the European Union's Galileo navigation program was launched
from Kazakhstan on Wednesday, a major step forward for Europe's answer to
the U.S. Global Positioning System.
The Galileo satellite, named
"Giove A,'' took off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard a Soyuz rocket.
Journalists monitored the liftoff through a linkup at the European Space Agency
headquarters in Paris.
The $4 billion Galileo
project will eventually use about 30 satellites and end Europe's reliance on
the GPS system, which is controlled by the U.S. military.
Galileo will more than
double GPS coverage, providing satellite navigation for people from motorists
to sailors to mapmakers. In particular, Galileo is expected to improve coverage
in high-latitude areas such as northern Europe.
In orbit, the satellite
will test atomic clocks and navigation signals, secure Galileo's frequencies in
space and allow scientists to monitor how radiation affects the craft.
Galileo is under civilian
control. The European Space Agency says it can guarantee operation at all
times, except in cases of the "direst emergency.''
Galileo will also be more
exact than GPS, with precision of about three feet, compared to about 16 feet
with GPS technology, ESA spokesman Franco Bonacina said. With Galileo, for
example, rescue services will be able to direct ambulances on which lane to use
on the highway, he said.
A second satellite named
"Giove B'' is scheduled to be placed in orbit this spring. Two more satellites
will then be launched in 2008 to complete the testing phase, which requires at
least four satellites in orbit to guarantee an exact position and time anywhere
on earth.
Consumers are expected to
be able to buy Galileo receivers in 2008, and they will be able to switch back
and forth between GPS and Galileo, similar to how people can change between
cell phone networks now, Bonacina said.
Six non-EU nations --
China, India, Israel, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine -- have joined the
program set up by the European Commission and European Space Agency, and
discussions are underway with other countries to take part.
The EU is to allocate an
initial $1.2 billion from its 2007-2013 budget to fund deployment and
commercial operations of the satellite system. The private sector will
contribute two-thirds of the funds for the project, which is expected to create
more than 150,000 jobs in Europe alone.
Last year, the EU and
United States struck a deal to make Galileo compatible with the U.S. GPS
system, ending a trans-Atlantic feud over the issue.
The Pentagon had initially
criticized Galileo as unnecessary and a potential security threat during
wartime, saying its signals could interfere with the next-generation GPS
signals intended for use by the U.S. military.
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