ESA is working on alternate PNT by deploying PNT in new frequency bands. We have plans ranging from VHF to Ka-band, which is essential to overcome interference on the ground, says Francisco-Javier Benedicto Ruiz, Director of Navigation (D/NAV), European Space Agency (ESA).
It is commonly said the world economy runs on GPS or GNSS positioning systems. What is the actual value of resilient PNT in global economics?
Satellite navigation is one of the most successful daily-use space applications. It has entered all fields of society and the economy and supports national policies. It has become a strategic asset for governments and, therefore, has a very critical nature – it has to work constantly, with high precision, reliability, and availability.
Resilience is all about providing the necessary robustness in our systems to sustain unplanned events such as cyber-attacks. We need to be resilient about space weather affecting satellite health and against any interference and jamming, both intentional and non-intentional. All of this requires using specific technologies and certain architectures, which we have implemented in our systems and will continue developing in the future.
Can you share some of the initiatives you will take in the coming years?
We have two main satellite navigation flagship programs in Europe: EGNOS and Galileo. EGNOS was conceived as an augmentation of GPS for safety-of-life uses like aviation for example, while other independent navigation systems like Galileo, BeiDou, and GLONASS have complemented GPS.
Therefore, adding to the resilience of the GNSS community worldwide, we are modifying the EGNOS system to augment Galileo and not only GPS. We call it the third generation of EGNOS, which ensures that civil aviation can make reliable use of EGNOS without relying on either GPS or Galileo. It can depend on both systems at the same time.
Europe is in the first generation of Galileo, which is fully operational and available to users. We are providing authentication, which tells the user that the signal they are receiving is the actual signal and avoids spoofing from external sources.
We are also developing the second generation of Galileo for the EU Space Program, which will be a more robust system, more powerful with the diversification of signals, and in line with resilience.
Following a positive endorsement by ESA Member States at the Ministerial Conference in November 2022, we will start the in-orbit demonstration of the use of a new satellite navigation technology from low Earth orbit for the benefit of the user in terms of improving the accuracy and the availability of positioning.
Are you considering alternatives going to non-satellite-based position systems?
We have many projects in our Navigation Innovation and Support Programme (NAVISP) integrating satellite navigation with non-satellite PNT systems based on inertial sensors.
Augmented reality can be merged with inertial sensors, satellite navigation, and terrestrial communication to provide the necessary resilience under challenging environments like indoors and going through tunnels and urban environments.
Geopolitics is impacting space. GNSS jamming and spoofing came to light after Russia attacked Ukraine. What is your take on this, and how are you going to address this in the future?
This war has revealed some realities. The world of international geopolitics is evolving, so from a European perspective, it is essential to ask the question, what is the balance between global cooperation and European autonomy is.
We have to find the right balance. The answer is not one against the other. But to foster international cooperation; we do it all the time. Despite the difficulties, we continue with our efforts to explain the significance of international cooperation.
This has to be applied at a global scale with multiple stakeholders. All space powers have to cooperate because there is only one Earth, and we must share it and pay attention not to do things that are damaging each other.
We are concerned about the proliferation of mega-constellations, for instance, damaging the astronomy community’s interest and creating an unnecessary amount of space debris, which makes more and more alerts of collision every day.
We cannot decide ourselves autonomously in Europe; we have to be interoperable and coordinated. Therefore, international cooperation is essential.
When cooperation fails, like when you are facing a war, you have to look at your dependencies, and this is where you need to have backup solutions which rely on your means. This is why independence and autonomy are also very important.
After Brexit, how is the collaboration with the UK, as they are also developing their space capabilities?
We have a very longstanding and strong cooperation with the United Kingdom, which is one of the strong supporters of the ESA and will continue to be. The UK is a space power with a lot of competence and talent; it has a strong industry alongside a robust scientific network.
The UK pays attention to space applications, and we cooperate well with them. ESA has a permanent site in the UK (ECSAT) that promotes the use of space in collaboration with industries and universities.
Despite Brexit, there will likely be strong collaboration. We have bilateral agreements with Norway and Switzerland, which are not members of the European Union. In the future, we hope that the UK will develop a bilateral agreement with the European Union to continue its collaboration on space programs.
Many technological developments are happening in the new space, and many startups are coming up with new innovative solutions, leading to the industry landscape’s evolution. How do you view it?
New space is a buzzword; there is no old or new space. There is a new way of doing things, which has to do mainly with technology.
We have a plethora of industries, like the automotive sector, which is an inspiration for us, or aeronautics in general. And we are looking very carefully at their way of doing things, their approaches, methodologies, standards, the use of components, qualification methods, etc.
We are trying to import as much as possible, but the way of producing is different. The production capabilities have to be modernized by using artificial intelligence, machine learning, and different ways of putting mass production, and so on.
Commercialization of space is also an important aspect. Space is no longer a pure institutional market. It is now close to citizens and society at large. Therefore, space can attract private funding.
We are seeing more private-public partnerships which are being put together. We are developing ESA towards this, and satellite navigation will not be an exception.
