Effects of the Galileo Constellation on U.S. National Interests
Abstract
In 1973, the U.S. Department of Defense invested $12 billion to develop a space-based navigation system known as the Global Positioning System (GPS). GPS provides free navigation and timing signals to worldwide users. Although GPS was originally developed as a military system, during the last decade the GPS industry has exploded with new applications in transportation, mapping, and time synchronization, thus becoming the newest "global utility." GPS is the dominant player in the Global Navigation Satellite System market, which is expected to reach $50 billion by 2010. Driven by the success of GPS and the huge satellite navigation market potential, the European Union is planning on developing its own satellite system, called Galileo. Galileo will be under civil control and its performance will be similar to a modernized GPS, however, Galileo users will have to pay a fee for its premium service. The deployment of Galileo raises several military and commercial concerns that could affect U.S. national interests. Before Galileo becomes operational, United States representatives and their European counterparts must resolve many issues such as signal allocation, protection from unauthorized use of the signal, regulatory restrictions, and interoperability of the two systems.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA430871
Entities
People
- Zannis M. Pappas
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology