Galileo's Ground Segment Problem - Bert Hubert's writings
a day ago
- Galileo's ground segment has limited uplink capacity, often contacting only 13 of 24 satellites simultaneously, causing occasional accuracy issues.
- On September 25, 2020, satellite E11 accumulated a 5-meter error due to lack of ground contact, highlighting the need for more robust communication.
- Aging satellites like E11 require frequent ephemeris updates every 10 minutes, but without ground contact they continue broadcasting a healthy status, potentially misleading users.
- On October 27, 2020, two new dishes were added to the ground segment, partially addressing the capacity problem.
- The ground segment's underinvestment (despite Galileo's €10 billion cost) contrasts with satellite reliability, leading to chronic uplink shortages and calls for autonomous fault signaling.
- Adding 'Working Without Guarantee' functionality to all satellites would improve system integrity by marking them faulty if out of contact.