Fourth Munich Satellite Navigtation Summit 2006

The fourth Munich Satellite Navigation Summit was held from 21st to 23rd February 2006 in Residenz München, Munich, Germany. The focus of the Summit was the new opportunities for product and services based on Galileo.

The three day session featured discussions among panelists on perspectives and critical issues in various growing application areas of satellite navigation, in particular with the advent of Galileo. Brief presentations and statements of the panelists initiated each session.

The Summit was organized by the Institute of Geodesy and Navigation of the University FAF, Munich in cooperation with Bavarian Ministry of Finance, Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Infrastructure Transport and Technology, Anwendungszentrum GmbH, German Aerospace Centre, Telematica e.k., EADS Space, Galileo Industries, Technische Universitat Munchen, Universit FAF Munich and supported by Mercator Park

An exhibition accompanied the Summit. The main exhibitors were Alcatel Alenia Space, EADS Space, The Fraunhofer Institut – Institute of Integrated Circuits (Fraunhofer IIS), Galileo Industries, Galileo Joint Undertaking, European Navigation Concessionaire, IfEN GmbH, Le Gouvernment du Quebec, Research Airport Braunschweig, TELDIX and Thales ATM GmbH.

The Plenary session on February 21 evening was moderated by Prof. Dr. Guenter W. Hein, Institute of Geodesy and Navigation, University FAF Munich, Germany. The first round focused on the Political And Economical Dimension Of Satellite Navigation. Representatives from various Governments presented their paper and elaborated on the expanding impact of satellite navigation on the society and the benefits it is likely to accrue for the citizens.The Bavarian Government during the plenary session impressed upon their will to establish a regional hub of excellence for satellite navigation applications in the greater area around Munich.

The second session was on The Growing Impact Of Satellite Navigation Services. Representatives of the European Commission, the Galileo Joint Undertaking, the European Space Agency, the Galileo concession consortium as well as GPS representatives of the USA took part in this session.

The second day started with a session on the News From Satellite Navigation Space. Presentations during this session dwelt on GIOVE-A, the first Galileo satellite in space, the Galileo concession processes, the actual status of GPS, GLONASS, QZSS and other important happenings in the world of satellite navigation. The session was presided over by Prof. Dr. Tony Pratt, Defence Science Technology Laboratory, UK. Presentation was given by John Paffett, Director of Projects, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd., Guildford, UK. He presented a paper entitled ‘GIOVE-A: The First Galileo Satellite in Space.’ Sylvain Loddo, GALILEO System, Ground Segment and Operations Manager, European Space Agency, Noordwijk, the Netherlands presented a talk on the Status of the Galileo Project, David A. Turner, National Space-based PNT Coordination Office, Washington, D.C., USA presented a paper on the Status of GPS Modernization, Sergey G. Revnivykh, Deputy Head of Mission Control Center, Moscow, Russia presented the Status Report of GLONASS, Hiroaki Maeda, Engineering Manager for Satellite Navigation and Positioning Systems Division, NEC Toshiba Space Systems, Ltd., and Mikio Sawabe, Deputy Project Manager, Satellite Applications Center, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Tokyo, Japan presented a talk on the Status of the Japanese QZSS Project,Carlo des Dorides, Head of GJU Concession Division, Galileo Joint Undertaking, Brussels, Belgium presented a paper on the Status of the Galileo Concession Process

The second session had Munich Flashlights - News From Bavaria, as its central theme. Brief presentations were given from the Munich Galileo scene reporting on activities of the Bavarian satellite navigation network of excellence.



The third session of the second day of the Summit had Galileo On The Way To A Dual System, as its theme. Galileo was launched as a civilian-use system under civilian control. In addition to various issues, the session discussed the eternal question, Isn’t a satellite navigation system by its nature and security requirements a dual system?

New Players In The Galileo Concert was the focus of the fourth session. Non-European countries are already participating in Galileo and interests are growing at the institutional and industrial level. The panel discussed the status of the cooperation agreements and elaborated on the motivation of the players involved.

Session Fifth focussed on Perspectives Of Galileo/GNSS For Aviation. The aviation community was among the first to recognize the value of satellite navigation. GPS augmentation systems like EGNOS, WAAS, MSAS and GRAS were being built up mainly to serve the needs of aviation sector. But now the initial enthusiasm of aviation sector for satellite navigation seems to have evaporated. The question that was tackled in this session was, Does Galileo and GPS-III offer new additional benefits for aviation sector?

The sixth session of the Summit focused on GNSS Mass Market Applications Are Just Taking Off . Starting with the evolution of sales in the previous years, the panel elaborated on the latest trends and future predictions for the GNSS mass market. The future role of Galileo was evaluated in the light of the technological progresses being made in the outer world. Methods and approaches to boost the development of applications were also discussed.

Session on the third day of the Summit focused on Satellite Navigation & Personal Safety. There is a growing need for personal safety and protection of citizens as well as need for the prevention of natural disasters and other catastrophes all over the world. Reliable methods and approaches for search and rescue operations are more important than ever before. The panel evaluated whether the satellite navigation can contribute in this, and if so, how?

Second Session of the third day of the Summit had Satellite Navigation & Security as its theme. The new U.S. space-based positioning, navigation and timing policy announced on December 15, 2004 mentions explicitly the use of GPS for national, homeland, and economic security.

It was followed by a session highlighted on the theme, Standardization And Certification. Worldwide development of satellite navigation products and services require early and quality standardization. This session discussed the actual status of standardization in the different application sectors and future needs and perspectives. Furthermore, panelists had a look on the impact of the introduction of Galileo with regard to the certification. The new share of responsibilities among the stakeholders (service providers, regulators, users, concessionaire, supervisory authorities) was also discussed.

The tenth Session of the Summit focused on What Is Coming After Galileo-I And GPS-Iif - Ideas for the Evolution of Satellite Navigation Systems. Although as yet, there is only one Galileo satellite in orbit, planning for the next generation of satellite navigation systems (GPS-III, Galileo II) has already been started. This session featured ideas and visions for satellite navigation in the forthcoming decades.

A lecture on ‘ULTRA- PRECISE CLOCKS FOR SATELLITE NAVIGATION’. during this session, was delivered by the Physics Nobel Prize Winner, Prof. Dr. Theodor W. Hänsch, Director of the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, Garching, Germany.

Concluding presentation of the Summit was given by Giuseppe Viriglio, Director of the EU and Industrial Programmes, European Space Agency (ESA), Paris, France on ESA´s View on the Future of Satellite Navigation which was followed by the opening of GALILEO MASTERS COMPETITION, 2006.