Galileo: Current Status, Prospects and Applications

This article is the written version of an introductory presentation made at the Opening of the Workshop session entitled “Satellite Navigation: Prospects and Applications”. The paper describes the present GNSS scene, which has changed significantly with the successful launch of GIOVE A, the first Galileo test satellite. A summary description of the planned modernisation and governance of the two existing global systems, GPS and GLONASS, is followed by brief details of the proposed Galileo Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) scheme, and a brief summary of the various regional Space Based Augmentation Systems (SBAS). The paper then concentrates on the proposed control of operations and governance of Galileo, a summary of the proposed Galileo services, and the applications that are likely to emerge in the near future.