European Space Agency (ESA) allocated €76.6 million to develop the Genesis orbital observatory, which will be able to determine the position of objects on Earth with an accuracy of one millimeter. Another €156.8 million has been allocated for the launch of a low-orbit constellation of devices to test and improve the reliability of satellite navigation.
Genesis will power the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF). For this purpose, a satellite navigation rangefinder, a radio interferometry module with ultra-long baselines, a laser rangefinder and a system for measuring the Doppler shift during the exchange of radio signals between satellites and ground stations (DORIS) will be located on board the device – the synchronization of the equipment will be ensured by an ultra-stable oscillator (USO). The combination of four geodetic methods on one device will make it possible to achieve measurement accuracy that could not be achieved before, noted OHB Italia, the main contractor in the Genesis project.
Last year, the European satellite navigation system Galileo was complemented by the High-Accuracy Service (HAS), which provided accuracy of up to 20 cm horizontally and up to 40 cm vertically. The result is that Galileo is the most accurate satellite navigation system in the world, but the 1mm resolution obviously promises even greater accuracy. The updated ITRF will help improve the accuracy of satellite systems, including Galileo, “in areas such as aviation, traffic control, autonomous vehicles, positioning and navigation,” ESA noted. This will be in demand in meteorology, disaster forecasting, monitoring the effects of climate change, land use and surveying, and the study of gravitational and non-gravitational fields.
The agency awarded two €78.4 million contracts for the development of the LEO-PNT low-orbit navigation and timing demonstration system. This will be a constellation of satellites to test new signals and frequency bands to improve positioning accuracy when working in conjunction with Galileo and other satellite navigation systems. LEO-PNT will improve the reliability of navigation systems in environments with interference and poor reception, including dense urban areas and even indoors. The launch of Genesis is scheduled for 2028, and the LEO-PNT constellation should be deployed until 2027.
