French space agency breaks ground on Galileo Security Monitoring Center

20 November 2012 aerospace-technology.com

French space agency Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) has broken ground on the Galileo Security Monitoring Center (GSMC) in Saint Germain en Laye, Paris.

The ceremony was attended by French civilian and military authorities and EU officials.

GSMC will be the future hub of Galileo programme security and will handle tasks such as complete management of the system security and of the Galileo Public Regulated Service (PRS) access, command and control of European GNSS in accordance with Joint Action principle, as well as provision of PRS and GNSS security capabilities and analysis.

“The excellent collaboration with France on the GSMC is a positive step for Galileo as well as for Europe."

In addition, the centre will ensure the reliability of the Galileo system.

Recently, a pair of Galileo navigation satellites, Flight Model 3 (FM3) and Flight Model 4 (FM4), were launched from the European Spaceport in French Guiana aboard a Soyuz ST-B VS03 rocket.

European GNSS Agency (GSA) executive director Carlo des Dorides said that this marked a key step in the development of the Galileo programme.

"The excellent collaboration with France on the GSMC is a positive step for Galileo as well as for Europe," Dorides added.

CNES president and Galileo programme interministerial coordinator Yannick d'Escatha said the GSMC project was one of the key steps for the success of Galileo and reflects France's commitment to the security of the European programme.

"Together, the European Union and its member states are benefiting from this fruitful collaboration," d'Escatha added.

The centre is being built by CNES in collaboration with the French Ministry of Defence and is expected to be complete in 2013 and will employ around 30 professionals from across Europe.

In addition to a centre in France, a second GSMC facility will be located in Swanwick, UK.