Galileo Concept of Operations, First IOV LEOP and Initial Operations

摘要

On October 21st, 2011, Soyuz lifted off for the first time from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, carrying the first two Galileo In-Orbit Validation satellites. The two Galileo satellites are part of the In-Orbit Validation (IOV) phase, that will see the Galileo system's space, ground and user segments extensively tested. At the end of their LEOP Launch and Early Operations Phase, control of the satellites was passed from the CNES French space agency centre in Toulouse to the Galileo Control Centre at Oberpfaffenhofen, in Germany. The Galileo global navigation satellite system, joint initiative by the European Union and the European Space Agency, is one of the most ambitious and technologically advanced space systems being developed in Europe. The Galileo system is based on a constellation of 30 satellites and, in order to provide its primary services, operational activities will have to be conducted from the Galileo Control Centers, the LEOP Control Centers, the IOT Station, and the various TT&C, up-link and monitoring remote stations. Operations services and, in the future, end users services will be provided on the basis of Service Level Agreements (SLA's) and monitored by means of Key Performance Indicators (KPI's). This paper describes in detail the Galileo Concept of Operations, the organization of the operational infrastructure and activities and the initial operational life.