- Team comprising Inmarsat, Goonhilly, GMVNSL demonstrates platform for future sovereign UK Position, Navigation and Timing capability
- UK not part of Galileo satnav system, cannot use European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) safety of life (SOL) services since leaving European Union
An Inmarsat-led team of companies in the UK, building on national expertise and prior experience within the group, has begun broadcasting a satellite navigation signal as part of a programme to explore the creation of a sovereign national capability in resilient positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) for the aviation and maritime sectors, reads an official release.
The signal, being broadcast in coordination with the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Union Space Programme Agency (EUSPA), is now stable and operational, enabling on-going testing and validation by industry, regulators, and users.
Assessment of more precise, resilient and high integrity navigation
Inmarsat, the world leader in global, mobile satellite communications, alongside British partners Goonhilly Earth Station Limited and GMVNSL Limited, is delivering the UK Space Agency-funded tests with the European Space Agency via the latter’s Navigation Innovation and Support Program (NAVISP).
UKSBAS – the UK Space-Based Augmentation System – generates an overlay test signal to the US Global Positioning System (GPS), fully-compliant with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards, to enable assessment of more precise, resilient and high integrity navigation for maritime and aviation users in UK waters and airspace. It increases accuracy in positioning to a few centimetres of accuracy rather than the few metres provided by standard GPS. This is a similar system to that already under evaluation in Australia and New Zealand, supported by Inmarsat.
Use of GPS for airport approach
Since leaving the European Union, the UK is not part of the Galileo satnav system and cannot use the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) safety of life (SOL) services, which enable the use of GPS for airport approach and landing operations for aircraft.
By repurposing the SBAS transponder on Inmarsat’s I-3 F5 satellite in geostationary orbit at 54° west, the UKSBAS signal enables testing of this potential alternative system to begin. Built by Inmarsat’s Athena partner Lockheed Martin and launched in 1998, I-3F5 covers the UK as part of its Atlantic Ocean region service overlay.
This makes it an ideal candidate to participate in this test and demonstrates the commitment to sustainability of Inmarsat with a satellite that has already served the equivalent of several low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite life cycles.
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Source: INMARSAT
