A trans-European production line is progressively transforming the Galileo satnav system into a working reality. The 22 satellites so far contracted to join the four already in orbit are having their payloads manufactured at Surrey Satellite Technology Ltdin the UK, which are then integrated to their satellite platforms at OHB in Germany. Finally, each complete satellite is tested at ESTEC in the Netherlands for launch from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.
And this main manufacturing process is fed by smaller but no less crucial production lines all across the continent, run by specialised companies supplying essential building blocks to Galileo’s prime contractors.
The old Norwegian naval town of Horten, just south of Oslo, is home to Kongsberg Norspace, a 95-strong company contributing two key elements to these next 22 Galileo ‘Full Operational Capability’ satellites.
“We won the contracts to supply the Frequency Generator and Upconverter Units (FGUUs) and Search and Rescue Transponders (SARTs) for all the Galileo FOC satellites,” explains Sverre Bisgaard, CEO of Kongsberg Norspace.
The shoebox-sized FGUU is a pivotal item of equipment, effectively giving Galileo its voice: “It takes the outputs of the satellite’s adjacent Navigation Signal Generator Unit and converts them into L-band signals across Galileo’s three spectral bands. It is these signals that end up guiding Galileo users through their receivers.
“These signals end up being very low power by the time they reach the ground, so maintaining the signal quality is key, in terms of power range, frequency shape and low noise. The FGUU actually relies on Galileo’s atomic clocks to keep accurately locked on its set frequency. It also actively determines which of the clocks and other redundant subsystems it should employ at any one time for optimal operations.”
Source: ESA