The European satellite navigation system Galileo has partially failed at the weekend due to a fault. The search and rescue service, with the people in distress can be tracked, but still work, said the competent European satellite navigation authority GSA on their website.
Disturbed are facilities on the floor. Experts worked to fix the mistake.
With the billion-dollar prestige project Galileo, Europe wants to become independent of the American GPS. First Galileo services are available since December 2016. Positioning around the globe is already possible. The system will ultimately offer navigation services with 30 satellites.
There are currently 26 Galileo satellites in orbit, and four more will be launched into space by the end of 2020. The control center is located in the German Oberpfaffenhofen, the seat of the EU authority GSA is Prague.
Galileo had gone to the start with great delay and much higher costs than planned. Originally, Galileo should go into full operation in 2008. In 1999, the EU planned 2.2 to 2.9 billion euros for the construction of the system. The current budget: The EU budget for 2020 is set at 7.2 billion for the construction plus three more billion for the operation.
