Galileo expected to be operational by 2014

摘要

The european commission has awarded six key contractsrnfor the Galileo satellite navigation system that should see it go into operation in 2014. Galileo will be both a complementary and alternative system to the US military's Global Positioning System (GPS) and Russian military's Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), but will be civilian-owned.rnEuropean Commission vice-president for Transport, Antonio Tajani said, "With this and the upcoming awards for the remaining procurement packages, we are concluding a critical phase of the Galileo programme. We can now focus on the actual roll-out and demonstrate to European citizens that Europe's own satellite navigation system is firmly underway."