Saab Ericsson Space Group becomes a major Galileo satellite equipment supplier

Saab Ericsson Space in Gothenburg, Sweden, and Austrian Aerospace in Vienna, Austria have been selected to develop and manufacture a number of key onboard equipment for the first four satellites for Europe´s new satellite navigation system “Galileo”.

“Many years of marketing efforts and predevelopment work now pays off. We will be a dominating supplier of on-board computers and processors, but we will also contribute with products from other areas of expertise like antennas and thermal blankets for the 30 satellites to be built. We are proud of the confidence given to us by Galileo Industries and the European Space Agency”, says Folke Brundin, Senior Vice-President at Saab Ericsson Space.

Galileo is Europe’s new satellite navigation system and will be a civilian alternative and complement to the American GPS system. It will stand under European Union control and will, once in full operation in 2011, consist of 30 satellites in three orbital planes. The procurement and operation of the complete system is intended to be executed by an industrial consortium under a public-private partnership scheme which is presently being negotiated with the EU.

The presently approved phase of Galileo, the In-Orbit Validation (IOV), used for system validation and gathering of in-orbit experience, covers the development and delivery of four Galileo satellites and is jointly sponsored by the European Space Agency and the European Union. The system industrial prime for this IOV-phase is Galileo Industries, a company owned by EADS Astrium, Alcatel Alenia Space, Thales and Galileo Sistemas y Servicios.

The total order value for the Saab Ericsson Space Group for the IOV phase is 30 Million Euro. The remaining 26 satellites and corresponding equipment will be procured in a renewed competition but the experience from being a supplier to the IOV satellites will be of great value to the customer.

The equipment that the Saab Ericsson Space Group now has been selected to supply is:
- The computer system that controls and commands the satellite functions (Integrated Command and Data Unit, ICDU). The customer is EADS Astrium in Ottobrunn, Germany.

- The Navigation Signal Generation Unit, NSGU. This unit generates the complex digital navigation signals that ground receivers use for position calculations. This unit is system critical and will be supplied by two independent suppliers. The customer is EADS Astrium in Portsmouth, UK.

- The digital baseband processor for the Mission Receiver (MISREC) used for the mission data reception from ground, for instance for the integrity function of the system. The customer is Mier Comunicaciones in Barcelona, Spain.

- The computers of the Security units, used for encryption/decryption of communication links with ground to deny unauthorized access and unauthorized use of services. The customer is Alcatel Alenia Space ETCA in Charleroi, Belgium.

- The Mission Receiver antenna at C-band. The customer is EADS Astrium in Portsmouth, England.

- The S-band transmit/receive antenna for command and control of the satellites. The customer is Alcatel Alenia Space Espana in Madrid, Spain.

- Thermal insulation blankets (Multi-Layer Insulation, MLI). The customer is Alcatel Alenia Space in Torino, Italy.

- Satellite transportation containers. The customer is Alcatel Alenia Space in Rome, Italy.

- Satellite payload handling devices. The customer is EADS Astrium in Portsmouth, UK.

Saab Ericsson Space is an international, independent supplier of space equipment. The company’s main products are computers, microwave electronics and antennas for spacecraft and adapters and separation systems for launchers. The company has its headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden, a division located in Linköping, Sweden, and subsidiaries in Austria (Austrian Aerospace) and the USA (Saab Ericsson Space Inc).The Saab Ericsson Space Group has approximately 530 employees. The company is jointly owned by Saab and Ericsson.

For further information please contact:
Lars Nordfeldt, Director of Communications & Public Affairs
Tel: +46 (0)31-735 4312, Cellular: +46 (0)736-68 03 12, Fax: +46 (0)31-735 45 00

This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net

The following files are available for download:

PDF	06-023_Artisktisk bild av Galileo- systemet (ESA).jpg