At EUSPA, we do: After a year of action, we are ready for a year of delivery!

Few words to describe EUSPA’s past year at work? That’s action, hands down!

Long before we officially transformed into the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), on the 12th of May 2021, our teams in the Czech Republic, France, Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium had been laying out how to ensure a smooth transition that would not affect our operations, service provision, security, and engagement with the user community.

We had a bunch of things to consider, from all administrative tasks that were necessary to become EUSPA, evolving our vision, mission, strategic objectives, and organisation, to choosing a corporate image (including logo) and communicating to our stakeholders. And all this while confining, deconfining, re-confining again…

As expected, teamwork paid off! With a rebranding exercise going on, we acted…

…protecting our assets against threats??

By the first trimester, we were reminded that increasing traffic and space debris are jeopardizing the?safety?of our space assets. In March 2021, we had to perform a collision avoidance maneuver?to eliminate the risk collision between one of the Galileo satellites (GSAT0219) and an inert Ariane 4 upper stage launched in 1989 – fast action and close cooperation between EUSST and the Galileo Service Operator was the key to success. On a different topic, as?the security?of the services we offer is paramount, we also launched the test phase of the -long-awaited-?Galileo OSNMA?which is set to offer an even more robust Position, Velocity, and Time information (PVT) to users.

…to keep our systems up and running?

In charge of the exploitation of the EU GNSS services, EUSPA knows well that uninterrupted, high-calibre services require seamless operations both in space and on the ground. To ensure the robustness of our satnav systems, we upgraded both our Galileo and EGNOS ground segments with updates at the?EGNOS facilities in Ciampino, Italy, and the inauguration of a brand-new Galileo Control Centre in Fucino, Italy.?

Looking up into our space segments, at around 23.222km,?two new Galileo satellites?are currently under testing upon successful orbit placement (great job EUSPA EOP team ??)! Satellites 27-28 are expected to provide users with extra accuracy at the end of the first semester of 22. Flying further away to a geosynchronous orbit, EUSPA secured the payload developer of?EGNOS GEO-4, an important element to the transition from EGNOS V2 to EGNOS V3. It will provide an extra layer of accuracy to various sectors and the crucial Safety of Life service.

…to expand our service provision to new markets?

Guaranteeing seamless space and ground operations is fundamental to one of the founding pillars of EUSPA: service provision to existing users and evolution according to their needs. That said, we recently introduced a set of EU Space markets uptake initiatives such as?the new Horizon Europe call worth 32.6 million euros,?designed in a way to include Copernicus together with Galileo and EGNOS. Similarly, with?#myEUSpace -part of the CASSINI initiative,?we challenged entrepreneurs to couple GNSS and EO data with new technologies, such as quantum, to develop solutions that will green our planet, digitize our society and boost our economy.? We look forward to awarding the best ideas and prototypes in 2022. Our involvement in Cassini will continue with other initiatives.

...in preparation for new #EUspace ventures

We fully understood the urgency for EU governmental users to access secure SatCom services and in 2021, we ramped up the preparatory activities for GOVSATCOM. Now we are ready to drive the 2nd phase of GOVSATCOM and be involved in secure connectivity. Besides, EUSPA, as a helping hand of the European Commission, supported the preparation for the?Secure Connectivity Initiative, a flagship programme that will provide the European Union with fast, secure, and without white spots internet connection.

Lastly, as the EU Space Programme is growing and to make sure that you reap the benefits of its services, we secured the required competencies for fulfilling our tasks and recruited several vetted professionals in a broad range of fields.?New positions are still open. Join us!

With 2022 around the corner, I already look forward to more action. We have a hefty space agenda to deliver on and new users to connect with.

In line with our amplified mission, which is to forge synergies between the EU Space Programme components, we will put forth action plans and initiatives to further accelerate the uptake of Earth Observation (EO) and GNSS data across industries. In support of these endeavors -and to let you in on a secret- you will soon have at your fingertips a brand-new publication: the EU Space Market Report (now focused also on EO). Keep an eye on our website or social for the announcement ??!?

With only months away before the ‘’Galileo Launch 12’’, slated for the beginning of spring, our team of experts is already working with the Galileo Service Operator to orchestrate the operations from the GCC-D in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany with our industrial and institutional partners.?

And that’s only the beginning!

For me, now it’s time to spend few days home with family and friends, share experiences and load batteries. I wish everyone a prosperous 2022!?

Rodrigo

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