LuGRE was developed in Italy by Qascom on behalf of the Italian Space Agency, in collaboration with NASA and scientific support from the Politecnico di Torino. The receiver is integrated into the commercial lander Blue Ghost 1, which Firefly Aerospace built in the United States as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.

The signal acquisition occurred in the L1/E1 and L5/E5 bands throughout the Blue Ghost 1 lander’s journey to the Moon. The most distant GNSS satellite signal received was from the Galileo constellation, at a distance of 67.79 Earth radii, about 432,384 kilometers from the LuGRE receiver.

This recent operation demonstrated that the receiver could use GNSS signals even near the Moon, where the lander orbited in low lunar orbit at a speed of approximately 1.66 kilometers per second.

Despite the significant distance and high speed, the position was calculated with very high accuracy, with an error margin of about 1.5 kilometers for position and about 2 meters per second for velocity. Signals were successfully acquired from four GPS satellites on the L1 and L5 frequencies and from one Galileo satellite on the E1-E5 frequency bands during a one-hour time window.

It also demonstrates the power of using multiple GNSS constellations together, such as GPS and Galileo, to perform navigation. After lunar landing, LuGRE will operate for 14 days and attempt to break another record – first reception of GNSS signals on the lunar surface.

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This is the first step toward a potential in-orbit demonstrator for optical time synchronisation and ranging (OpSTAR) that will be proposed at the ESA Council at Ministerial Level in November 2025, to validate intersatellite optical links before future use in operational satellite navigation systems.

Optical links, which transmit data using laser beams instead of radio signals, are already well established in the field of satellite communications. To be used in navigation, they still require technological advancements and in-orbit validation of the end-to-end system concept.

ESA aims to develop and test optical technology for time synchronisation and ranging. To that end, the agency has signed a contract with a consortium led by German OHB System as prime industry to conduct a concept definition study (Phase A/B1 study) and technology predevelopments. The European consortium involves 33 companies from across ESA Member states.

After this study, the next step would be to develop and test the technology in-orbit in order to validate novel system concepts and explore new architectures. The results will assess the readiness of optical technology and provide essential inputs for decision-makers with regards to incorporating it into future operational systems.

Javier Benedicto, ESA Director of Navigation: “We are thrilled to kick off this project now, as we gear up to the ESA Council at Ministerial Level in November, a crucial milestone in demonstrating the benefits of new technologies and shaping the future of navigation in Europe.”

José Ángel Ávila Rodríguez, Head of Future Programmes at ESA Navigation: “In addition to laying the foundation for a future in-orbit demonstration, OpSTAR will contribute to define an international interoperability standard for optical timing and ranging in PNT. By involving the main industry players at this early stage, we empower European industry to keep leading global PNT and benefit from potential implementation in future operational systems that use this technology.”

The use of laser beams has the potential to provide additional resilience and robustness at system level, reducing reliance on space atomic clocks and ground segment. Optical links are also immune to jamming and spoofing by nature.

Thanks to the high data transfer rates, intersatellite optical links also have the potential to enable new, more robust architectures, supporting a multi-layer system of systems approach to navigation, in line with the vision of the ESA’s LEO-PNT programme.

In addition, the superior precision offered by optical systems is expected to improve the performance of current navigation systems by an order of magnitude—reaching millimetre-level spatial accuracy and picosecond-level timing, ultimately enabling better services to benefit billions of users around the world.

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“We have far too many fatalities and injuries in traffic, and that’s something we cannot tolerate,” Robert Bosch Director of Autonomous Driving Christian Scharnhorst said during his keynote address. Scharnhorst cited global figures of 1.35 million fatalities per year, which is 3,700 per day, and 50 million injuries. “I’m totally convinced that automated mobility can provide a safer traffic environment.”

That said, the European Union (EU) automotive industry has not been as successful as hoped in its transition toward the mobility of the future. “It’s not a secret,” Scharnhorst said, “at Robert Bosch, as with our competitors and other automotive players, we are laying people off. On a daily basis, we are losing talent and important capabilities needed to materialize automated mobility.”

If the trend continues, doors will be open for competitors in other regions. In Asia, for example, competitors are eager and able to take the lead in automated driving (AD), but also in electric vehicles (EVs), artificial intelligence (AI) and the software defined vehicle (SDV).

“We are in a fierce competition, “Scharnhorst said. “Many EU startups have disappeared and many others are struggling to survive. The EU-based AD-ecosystem is under the highest ever financial pressure, and here, in Brussels, some have been hesitant to acknowledge that.”

After an especially difficult period, Scharnhorst said, signs out of the European capital are slowly turning more positive: “For years it has been a kind of game for certain politicians to cultivate mistrust against the automotive industry, and there may have been reasons for not trusting some automotive managers, a few of whom actually infringed law.”

In the latter half of the 2010s, executives at a large European auto maker were found to have committed fraud as they tried to deceive emissions regulators in the United States. The case made headlines across the globe and was a major embarrassment for the EU.

“That cannot be an argument to ban automotive in general,” Scharnhorst said, “to cultivate a mistrust of everybody in the sector. I believe there are some elements of hope that the key message is finally getting through, that without automotive in Europe we have a real problem. We can and we should sharpen the narrative for automated mobility, and we have the Draghi and Heitor reports that give us valuable arguments to set a new course.”

On Paper

Published in September 2024, the so-called Draghi Report (‘The Future of European Competitiveness—A Competitiveness Strategy for Europe”), penned by Mario Draghi, former president of the European Central Bank and Prime Minister of Italy, lays out a comprehensive strategy to address Europe’s competitiveness challenges. At issue is Europe’s economic viability in the face of global competition, specifically with respect to the U.S. and China.

The Heitor report, led by Manuel Heitor, former Portuguese science minister, also appeared in the fall of 2024. It recommends changes in the European Union’s current Framework Program for Research and Innovation (FP10, 2028-2035). The report criticizes the EU’s approach to research funding, arguing most of its support goes toward incremental advances rather than paradigm-shifting initiatives.

“We need to invest in R&D that leads to applications, getting to scaling,” Scharnhorst said, “preserving existing startups and getting big enterprises back into the investment arena. We live in a world that’s changing. We went from a nice globalization, with a task sharing approach, to a more fragmented, geopolitically tense situation, where we once more need to stand our ground. There are critical control points where we have to be independent and rely on ourselves, not on foreign technology.”

Money and Market Matters 

The automotive industry is a big deal for Europe, and it is working hard to maintain its position. Meanwhile, the Union has ambitious plans for future mobility, in particular in urban environments. Underlying the success of all foreseeable solutions, present and future, including every manner of unmanned vehicle, are key technologies, especially PNT. Here, it seems, Europe is also lagging. And then, one has to ask, why?

Shedding light was Gonzalo Martin de Mercado, PNT Competitiveness Manager for the European Space Agency (ESA) Navigation Innovation and Support Program (NAVISP). “NAVISP focuses on supporting European industrial R&D,” Martin de Mercado said, “and particularly in PNT. Now, you might wonder why a space agency is doing this. Aren’t we supposed to develop space systems? It’s because we see Europe falling behind the rest of the world in everything that is PNT.

“We have this amazing system, Galileo, that is paid for with European taxpayers’ money. It’s a technical marvel, but the problem comes on the business side. How do you sell something that’s free? Everyone has it in their smartphones, they use it, they don’t pay anything, so how can you sell that?”

The open signal delivered by Galileo is indeed free, but the equipment needed to receive it is not. Martin de Mercado said, “If we think about GNSS chips, the chips you need to use Galileo services, we can say, ‘OK, let’s make some chips and sell them. That’s a way to make this huge investment pay.’”

It’s not a new idea. EUSPA, the European Agency for the Space Program, formerly the GSA, has long provided support for European R&D aimed at capitalizing on Galileo services, including the development of new applications and chipsets.

“Looking into that,” Martin de Mercado said, “we see that the first producer of chips for Galileo in the world is an American company.” The second producer is an American company. The third producer is a Japanese company. The first European producer of chips for PNT is somewhere around number 10, a Swiss company called u-blox. “And this brings us to our point,” Martin de Mercado said. “We all agree that PNT is foundational for our digital technologies and society, but our dependence on non-European PNT chipsets is astonishing.

“And this is why we’re supporting your R&D,” he said, “because we want you to develop new products, to catch the competitiveness in PNT, and we’re also supporting the development of complementary and alternative PNT technologies.”

To be fair, Martin de Mercado said, European players do undertake some very big and important GNSS-related research activities, often successfully, but just as often aimed at developing highest-level solutions for the most demanding applications, which are not easy to carry around in your pocket.

“There is a difference in approach between Europe, the U.S. and Asia,” he said. “They tend to focus on business-to-consumer, while in Europe we tend to focus on business-to-business. Americans will tell you you have to listen to the consumer, because this will allow you to scale.” Martin de Mercado challenged anyone in the audience to call out a Fortune 500 company that does not address the consumer market or work with someone who addresses the consumer market. Everyone looked around but no one said anything.

“In Europe,” he said, “because we don’t have the ability to scale, because we lack the consumer orientation, we tend to address the professional market. We develop super-good and very expensive technologies, and we don’t sell much.”

A secondary issue, he said, remains the fragmentation of the European market. In the U.S., any company can potentially access 350 to 400 million customers immediately. If you start a company in France, you have a potential market of 60 to 65 million people. “We are the European Union,” Martin de Mercado said, “with a single market, yes, but I’m a French company and I want to do business in Germany, I still have to establish a company in Germany, I have to pay taxes in Germany, and there’s more, which you know about. All this costs time and money, putting European companies that want to scale at a disadvantage.”

More Success, More Hurdles

The picture was plain, not for the faint of heart. The Europeans (i.e. all the participants) at the meeting were riveted. Aside from defense and the consumer markets, including things like smartphones, Martin de Mercado said, “the automotive sector is the largest user of PNT technologies, and Europe produces, as of today, more than half the worldwide PNT solutions for automotive. That’s a fantastic achievement, but in 2022, 26 million cars were produced in China, 12 million cars were produced in the U.S. and 7 million cars were produced in Japan, while Germany, the largest European manufacturer, made only 3.5 million, and Spain 3.3 million.

“So we have an ecosystem that produces half the PNT technology for automotive in the world, but the vast majority of cars in the world are produced in China. It’s not hard to imagine those supply chains sooner or later leaving Europe to join that other ecosystem. That’s why we’re here today. We want to hear what you’re going to do about this.”

The call was registered, deep breaths were taken. Well considered responses, we believe, will be forthcoming. Meanwhile, attention turned to the skies, where that key enabling technology continues its triumphant rise.

No Mobility Without PNT

Cécile Deprez, researcher next generation GNSS at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), briefed attendees on plans for future Galileo satellites. “Today, our satellites communicate with a network of ground stations, but they don’t communicate with each other. It is very expensive to run and maintain those ground facilities, so our solution is to introduce satellite-to-satellite communications.”

On that subject, Rafael Lucas Rodriguez, head of NAVISP Program Office at ESA, said “Satellite-to-satellite communication is something we need to add to the next generation. These links could be radio frequency [RF]-based, like other systems are doing, or they could be optical, which is more advanced. A constellation is like a mesh, and with inter-satellite links you can really keep control of that mesh. The measurement of distances, for example, from satellite to satellite, can be more precise, because you don’t have to go through the atmosphere, which can always introduce errors.”

“In the immediate future we are likely to use RF links,” Deprez said, “but certainly in the third generation of Galileo, a bit farther on, we will introduce optical technologies, where we get high data rates, 50 to 100Mb per second of data communication, and we can also get very precise ranging between the satellites, at the millimeter or sub-millimeter level, plus the possibility of transferring time information at the picosecond level.”

One of the biggest challenges for satellite positioning is clock synchronization. The ability to synchronize satellite clocks directly, in space, will represent a huge advance. “We can greatly improve orbit estimation and reduce dependence on the ground segment,” Deprez said, “so we won’t need as many expensive-to-maintain ground stations. Ultimately, the robustness of the system will increase, with improved precision, PPP convergence time and other benefits.”

DLR is leading a number of Galileo projects, including the upcoming OpSTAR, working in close cooperation with ESA and partners to test Galileo satellite ranging, data dissemination and time synchronization, via satellite-to-satellite optical link.

Driving Toward Automation

Back on Earth, Aria Etemad of Volkswagen Group Research and Innovation talked about an important ongoing project led by his company. The Hi-Drive project, co-funded by the European Union, is the largest European effort in automatic driving, where the objective is robust and reliable AD. “Today’s automated driving is interrupted when you go from A to B,” Etemad said, “by fog, by accidents, by road works, you name it. There are GNSS occlusions, complex traffic situations, merging and exiting.”

Hi-Drive wants to defragment and extend AD operations, while advancing interoperability across countries and brands. The project introduces the concept of “enablers” aimed at closing gaps where AD is typically interrupted. “These enablers could be things like vehicle communication with cybersecurity,” Etemad said,” or high-precision positioning and localization, vehicle AI and machine learning.”

Other enablers include a geo-referenced cloud-based positioning service, forecasting GNSS signal quality in challenging environments such as urban canyons, tunnels and parking garages. The project is leveraging sensor fusion for localization, including simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) geometry identification, seamless positioning for low-speed maneuvers in close quarters, and object detection in urban environments.

“We’ve put a big team together, working in four thematic areas, to come up with 12 technical solutions and 63 implementations and tests,” Etemad said. In a recent demonstration, one Hi-Drive-equipped vehicle navigated the eight-kilometer-long Rennsteig Tunnel, the longest tunnel in Germany, operating in AD mode at about 80km per hour and without, of course, a GNSS signal.

“At automation level three, L3, the driver is still in charge and is responsible for everything that is happening,” Etemad said. “We are just now introducing levels 3 and 4. Daimler has introduced L3 for traffic jams and VW has announced we will pick up the robotaxi in Hamburg, a full-automation L4 service.”

Robotaxi services, initially without passengers, have been testing in Hamburg since 2021. Volkswagen Group is planning to operate the service through its mobility subsidiary MOIA, using fully electric ID.Buzz vans.

“For L4, we are using tons of sensors in our vehicles, to understand the environment, and this is expensive, so it’s not something you can produce for mass market. We need to reduce the complexity, and we think one solution would be to get information from outside the vehicle, and this is what we’re moving toward.”

Worth It

We return to where we started, the cost in lives of traditional driving. “Over 90% of traffic accidents are caused by human errors or behavior,” Etemad said. “But we also know that humans drive safely for millions of kilometers for every accident that occurs. That’s the level of reliability we’ll need to achieve with our automated systems.”

ESA’s Lucas Rodriguez believes it can happen, and he will have the last word here: “Yes, we need automated driving, because the future of urban mobility is mixed modality, with vulnerable users like pedestrians, bicycles and so on, all sharing the infrastructure with cars and larger vehicles. I know all about that because I live in Holland. Automated mobility will certainly improve safety there.”

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Focusing on anonymization, homomorphic encryption and secure multiparty computation (SMPC), the project addresses key use cases such as collaborative positioning, crowd management, and secure GNSS signal correlation.

As PNT technologies become critical for both civilian and military applications, ensuring user privacy without sacrificing accuracy is essential. Adversaries, including criminals, hackers, state actors and/or agents of industrial espionage, can exploit unprotected GNSS signals to disrupt or manipulate PNT information, leading to potential breaches of privacy and security.

VALLE uses SMPC to perform privacy-preserving density calculations that enhance crowd management while protecting individual identities, while homomorphic encryption enables GNSS signal correlation in encrypted domains, offering a secure alternative to conventional processing methods. Anonymization techniques can also be employed to facilitate collaborative positioning, yielding high-accuracy PNT outcomes while safeguarding user data.

The project’s demonstrator and performance benchmarks have confirmed the computational feasibility of these techniques, with analyses verifying robustness against privacy vulnerabilities. These promising results point to potential applications in a number of non-space applications.

Satisfying conclusion

At the recent VALLE final project presentation hosted by ESA, GMV Big Data Engineer Jedrzej Mosieznyn highlighted methods that balance data privacy with strong PNT performance. The VALLE team consolidated various use cases for privacy-preserving positioning services based on collected user PNT data, developing multiple processing concepts validated by a flexible demonstrator.

Key achievements included the use of SMPC for fast, secure computation of user density on personal computers, enabling efficient data sharing for location-based services. Partially homomorphic encryption allowed IQ sample correlation within encrypted domains on a single server-class system, opening opportunities for further algorithm enhancements. In addition, anonymization of GNSS observables supported a collaborative positioning solution that delivered high-accuracy results.

Network traffic analysis during the project revealed consistent patterns in ICMPv6, mDNS, and ARP protocols, with no vulnerabilities detected. Looking ahead, the VALLE solution shows real potential for use in a broad variety of applications such as crowd management, contact tracking, IoT, and smart city services. GMV intends to further refine these privacy-preserving PNT concepts and advance their technology readiness level (TRL) for next-generation, secure PNT systems.

The VALLE project ‘Novel Privacy-Preserving PNT Processing Techniques’, was funded under NAVISP Element 1, which supports innovation and disruptive technologies across the European PNT value chain.

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Working in partnership with GNSS and timing experts Fondazione LINKS and INRiM, Origosat developers based their new GTSA system on a patented, anti-spoofing algorithm that integrates data from different sources, including the automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) system. This is an advanced technology used in aviation that combines an aircraft’s positioning source, aircraft avionics, and ground infrastructure to create an accurate navigation interface between aircraft and air traffic control. Under ADS-B, aircraft broadcast a variety of messages at irregular intervals, with information on position, altitude and speed, along with other data. It is the irregularity of these messages that make the system particularly resilient against spoofing.

The GSTA algorithm also integrates independent GNSS data for timing and positioning, and it integrates alternative timing and synchronization data through a secure communication channel.

Step forward

GSTA team members presented their final results at a recent event hosted by ESA, where they explained how combining this unique set of data elements enables detection of the most common types of spoofing attacks, including attacks based on signal retransmission, so-called ‘meaconing’, and those based on signal simulation, for example using commercial GNSS simulators. Partners designed and built a robust, spoofing-resistant GNSS receiver, which they then tested in diverse, urban and open-field scenarios.

GSTA is a follow-on to a previous project, also funded by ESA, the GALIST project (‘Galileo Smart Traceability’). Its aim was to implement spoofing-resilient GNSS technologies for establishing the location of food production events in support of ‘made-in’ certification. The GALIST project has already put into operation some of the capabilities it developed for detecting and counteracting spoofing in this context.

Further actions following the GSTA project will be aimed at exploiting new market opportunities, not limited to food production applications. In particular, project partners said the GTSA spoofing detection and mitigation system is likely to be of interest in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) applications, in the automotive sector, including in autonomous vehicle applications and in vehicle tracking and fleet management, and in ‘internet of things’ (IoT) applications.

GTSA was funded under ESA’s NAVISP program, dedicated to strengthening the competitiveness of European positioning, navigation and timing (PNT)-related industries.

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The JRC is now inviting stakeholder input towards shaping the initiative.

Timing has long played third fiddle to positioning and navigation in the PNT triumvirate, in spite of the fact that it underpins every PNT function. Without accurate timing, satellites can’t deliver precise locations, power grids and other critical infrastructure falter, stocks can’t be traded and financial transactions lose sync. Call accurate timing the glue holding all these functions together. At a time when GNSS vulnerability is in the spotlight, resilient timing services via terrestrial networks, fiber, or alternative signals would provide a much-needed safety net.

Piecing together

Underpinning the JRC’s proposed timing backbone are elements in the complementary PNT (C-PNT) ecosystem, comprising a range of terrestrial timing systems, which would:

• Link European infrastructure, interconnecting national metrological institutes (NMIs) and research networks across the EU in a cohesive, resilient network;
• Support critical entities, enhancing timing services for vital infrastructure under the EU’s resilience directive while boosting GNSS redundancy;
• Drive competitiveness, unlocking new commercial applications and cementing Europe’s leadership in timing technologies.

The timing backbone initiative builds on the 2023 European Radio Navigation Plan and reflects years of groundwork by the European Commission (EC), the European Space Agency (ESA), and EU member states. The JRC has also drawn on its own in-depth analyses of Sweden’s distributed timing approach and the UK’s National Physical Laboratory (NPL) clock network, and has studied vulnerabilities recently exposed by Russian GNSS jamming activities in Ukraine.

The EU isn’t alone in its focus on timing resilience. China’s sprawling high-accuracy, ground-based timing system will eventually feature 20,000 km of fiber optics and a nationwide network of eLoran stations. Similar strategies are being pursued in the US and elsewhere.

The JRC market consultation report, issued late last year (2024), emphasizes the JRC’s role in fostering a robust and resilient PNT ecosystem, evidenced by its recent work in support of the development of new, alternative PNT technologies. The need for resilient timing is undeniable. The clock, as they say, is running, and the benefits are likely to be enormous.

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Evolving security concerns, the drive towards digitalisation, the rapid development of artificial intelligence and the launch of the New Space sector are all factors defining a new era of satellite communication and positioning.

Against this backdrop, EUSPA has published the first edition of its GNSS and Secure SATCOM User Technology Report strengthening its commitment to empowering stakeholders with actionable intelligence that drives innovation and competitiveness in Europe’s space industry.

An evolution of the previous GNSS User Technology and Secure SATCOM Market and User Technology reports, this new publication is designed to provide readers with a comprehensive understanding of the latest developments and trends in Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and Secure Satellite Communications (secure SATCOM).

“With these two pivotal technologies, having tangible user technology – terminals and receivers, we decided to combine our GNSS and secure SATCOM technology reports and present them in a single publication that also includes insights into their synergies,” says EUSPA Executive Director Rodrigo da Costa.

Recent developments and future trends in GNSS technology

The Report opens with a summary of the recent developments and future trends in GNSS technology that are relevant to end users. As new GNSS frequencies and signals become available for civilian applications, receivers’ manufacturers are keeping up to speed by upgrading their receivers’ baselines, thus addressing most of the GNSS satellites in Medium Earth Orbit. This advancement in receivers’ technology is well supported by the international coordination among GNSS, RNSS, and SBAS providers that has led to the adoption of open access signals with compatible frequency plans, common multiple access schemes, and modulation schemes. Also, a GNSS service-oriented approach is emerging; building on the infrastructure development, an extended service portfolio will provide the GNSS users with increased performance and security. European GNSS is at the forefront of this process as underscored by the recently rolled-out Galileo High Accuracy Service (HAS) or Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA) feature.

Among other topics selected, the spoofing and jamming threats are becoming a priority to be addressed both at the system and user level. Solutions like the Galileo OSNMA authentication, more resilient receivers with multiple antennas and sensor hybridisation are being explored and are starting to be implemented.

Developments in secure SATCOM systems

The secure SATCOM section of the Report outlines key evolutionary trends in the secure SATCOM domain by emphasising enhanced performance and system management optimisation that can now rely on digitalisation processes, cloud environments, the advent of AI techniques and the standardisation effort for the integration of non-terrestrial networks in the 5G ecosystem. Ongoing deployment of large NGSO (Non-Geostationary Orbits) constellations is also aiming at improved performances, most notably reduced latency transmissions, relying on more advanced user terminals that need to track and switch among multiple fast-moving satellites across the sky.

This report also emphasises significant developments that directly affect users, particularly those requiring enhanced security in SATCOM transmissions. Like terrestrial communications, satellite communications face risks from malicious actors. As a result, the development of governmental and commercial SATCOM systems is increasingly driven by the growing demand for enhanced confidentiality, integrity and availability when it comes to satellite communication links.

The Report also discusses how the digitalisation of core system components is shifting SATCOM systems away from legacy hardware-centric designs and towards modern software-oriented solutions. This digital transition enables user terminals to leverage multiple constellations and frequencies, significantly improving the availability of communication links and thus mitigating disruptions caused by natural factors or intentional interference.

“From the push for digitalisation to the integration of artificial intelligence and cloud computing and the deployment of large NGSO constellations, this Report puts the spotlight on the significant developments that directly affect users, particularly those requiring enhanced security in SATCOM transmissions,” adds da Costa.

Download the Report here.

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THIERRY AUTHIÉ, GUILLAUME COMELLI, SÉBASTIEN TRILLES, THALES ALENIA SPACE, TOULOUSE, FRANCE BYUNGSEOK LEE, MINHYUK SON, KOREA AEROSPACE RESEARCH INSTITUTE, REPUBLIC OF KOREA CHEON SIG SIN, ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE, REPUBLIC OF KOREA

The Korean Augmentation Satellite System (KASS) is a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) developed by the Republic of Korea (South Korea) to augment the functionality of the Global Positioning System (GPS) in the Korean Peninsula and the surrounding regions. KASS was designed to enhance the accuracy and reliability of GPS signals within the country. In aviation, it enables more precise and reliable navigation for aircraft, supporting instrument approach procedures and improving operational efficiency.

A SBAS is a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) augmentation system standardized in the International Convention on Civil Aviation SARPS Annex 10 [1], Volume 1, published and maintained by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). KASS provides safety-critical services for civil aviation, up to Approach with Vertical Guidance 1 (APV I ) service level, as well as an open service usable by other forms of transportation and possibly other position, navigation and timing (PNT) applications.

The KASS system provides improved GNSS navigation services for suitably equipped users in the agreed service areas of the Republic of Korea by broadcasting an augmentation signal of the GPS Standard Positioning Service (SPS).

To ensure the smooth operation of the system, KASS includes a network of ground receiver stations dedicated to collecting GPS measurements, a set of ground processing stations responsible for monitoring and controlling the satellites, and a set of ground uplink stations managing the transmitted signals toward two Geostationary Earth Orbiting (GEO) satellites. These ground control stations accurately calculate the orbit and clock information of the satellites, as well as the mono frequency L1 ionosphere delay, and continuously update the transmitted signals accordingly.

One of the system’s key features is its ability to enhance the integrity and reliability of positioning information. KASS incorporates integrity monitoring functions to detect and alert users of any potential errors or anomalies in the GPS signals. This is crucial for safety-critical applications that require precise positioning data, such as aviation and maritime navigation.

The augmentation signal provides corrections of GPS satellites orbits and clocks and integrity bounds of orbit/clock residual errors, as well as corrections and integrity bounds for ionosphere delays. The KASS satellites transmit signals that are compatible with GPS, allowing KASS-capable receivers to seamlessly switch between GPS and KASS signals and to compute a navigation solution with greater accuracy.

The KASS system qualification was achieved by December 15, 2023, and safety of life aeronautical services have been fully operational since December 28, 2023. 

The current network of KASS Reference Stations (KRS) is composed of seven KRS sites all deployed on the Republic of South Korea land masses. Each KRS includes two independent channels based on NovAtel WAAS GIII receivers that provide GPS signal tracking and measurements. This concentrated network allows users to reach APV I service level but not more stringent service levels like the Category 1 (CAT 1) approach.

This article presents an analysis of a system upgrade to reach the CAT I service level based on representative synthetic data scenario. This analysis involves an extension of the KRS network and minor changes in the navigation algorithms.

KASS Services and Architecture

KASS is designed to provide performance-based navigation (PBN) aeronautical procedures, such as RNAV or RNP approaches, enable aircraft to fly along precise paths during departure, enroute and approach phases. PBN is a modern concept in aviation that uses satellite-based navigation technology and proposes a set of procedures that enhance operating efficiency, reduce flight distances, improve airspace capacity and enhance safety.

The KASS system is designed to ensure four safety critical service levels:

• Enroute continental over the Incheon FIR area. Flight segments after arrival at initial cruise altitude until the start of descent to the destination.

• Enroute terminal over the Incheon FIR area for descent from cruise to Initial Approach Fix. 

• NPA over the Incheon FIR area. For non-precision approaches in aviation, this instrument approach and landing uses lateral guidance but not vertical guidance.

• APV I over South Korea landmasses (including Jeju Island) for precision approaches with vertical guidance.

KASS will provide open service over Incheon FIR area. 

Figure 1 shows the KASS service areas.

The KASS system is designed to be a system-of-systems ensuring the following main functions [2-3]:

• Collect GPS data at various locations in the Republic of Korea (and possibly other states in the future) through Korea Receiver Stations (KRS).

• Compute corrections and associated integrity bounds from ranging measurements of GPS satellites in view of KASS, and format messages compliant with the SBAS user interface standardized in ICAO SARPS Annex 10 [1] and the RTCA MOPS 229-D Change 1 [4]. This function is ensured by the Korean Processing Stations (KPS).

• Uplink a signal carrying these messages to navigation payloads on the KASS GEOs with Korean Uplink Stations (KUS).

• Broadcast the signal to users after frequency-conversion to the L1 band.

The KPS is the core component of the KASS system responsible for computing orbit, clock, ionosphere corrections, and alert information below the Navigation Overlay Frame (NOF). It uses data from a set of reference stations, the KRS, to perform these calculations. The KPS consists of two independent elements known as the processing set (PS) and the check set (CS).

The PS is responsible for computing the complete navigation context for the GNSS constellation, including orbits, clocks and the ionosphere model. It then prepares and sends the NOF, which is broadcasted to users. The CS acts as a supervisory entity by applying the NOF to GPS messages, ensuring consistency with an independent set of measurements to maintain integrity and control.

The KPS-PS component plays a critical role in achieving high-performance levels, specifically for the APV I service level. APV I is a type of PBN approach that provides lateral and vertical guidance to aircraft during the approach and landing phase. APV I approaches typically use satellite-based augmentation systems like the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) and now the Korean Augmentation Satellite System (KASS). These approaches provide accurate lateral and vertical guidance, allowing pilots to perform precision approaches with reduced reliance on ground-based navigational aids.

From APV I to CAT I Aviation Service for KASS

CAT I (localizer performance with vertical guidance 200) is another type of PBN approach that offers even higher precision and accuracy than APV I. CAT I approaches also use satellite-based augmentation systems like WAAS or EGNOS. With CAT I, the lateral and vertical guidance is provided by the aircraft’s flight management system, enabling pilots to fly approach paths that closely resemble traditional instrument landing system (ILS) approaches. CAT I approaches can provide the same level of guidance and minimums as Category I ILS approaches, with decision heights as low as 200 feet above the runway.

Both APV I and CAT I approaches provide increased flexibility, safety and efficiency compared to traditional ground-based navigation systems. They allow for greater access to airports in various weather conditions, reduce reliance on infrastructure, and enable more precise and efficient aircraft operations. These approaches have become increasingly popular and are being implemented worldwide to enhance flight safety and optimize airspace use.

Performance of a satellite navigation system can be expressed through Five Criteria: accuracy, integrity, continuity, availability and time-to-alert (TTA). The overall detailed performance specifications are depicted in Table 1.

Accuracy is the difference between the computed value and the actual value of the user position and time. Usually, accuracy is defined as the 95th percentile of the positioning error distribution.

The system TTA is defined as the time starting when an alarm condition occurs to the time the alarm is displayed in the cockpit. Time to detect the alarm condition is included as a component of integrity.

The alert limits are the maximum allowable error in the user position solution before an alarm is to be raised within the specific time to alert. This alert limit is dependent on the flight phase, and each user is responsible for determining its own integrity in regard to this limit for a given operation phase following the information provided by the SBAS SIS.

The integrity risk is the probability during the period of operation that an error, whatever the source, might result in a computed position error exceeding a maximum allowed value, called alert limit, and the user not be informed within the specific time to alert.

To display the integrity of the satellite corrections for each GPS satellite, the UDRE Safety Index is used to assess the integrity margin. The UDRE Safety Index is defined as the ratio . The Satellite Residual Error for the worst user location (SREW) was computed as the pseudorange error projection due to the remaining satellite ephemeris and clock errors, after KASS corrections were applied for the worst user location of the relevant service area. The relevant service area corresponds to the intersection of the service area and of the monitored satellite footprint.

Also, to display the integrity of the ionosphere corrections for each IGP, the notion of Grid Ionosphere Vertical Error (GIVE) Safety Index is used. The GIVE Safety Index is defined as the ratio , with the GIVE Error defined as the vertical pseudorange error at the considered IGP location due to the remaining ionospheric delay after applying the GIVE corrections.

Continuity defines the ability of a system to perform its function without interruption during the operation planned by the user (for example landing phase of an aircraft). It is evaluated as the probability that from the moment when the criteria of precision and integrity are completed at the beginning of an operation, they remain so for the duration of the operation.

Availability is the percentage of time when, over a certain geographical area, the criteria of accuracy, integrity and continuity are met.

Finally, the service area is the geographic zone where the SBAS shall provide service availability.

As depicted in Table 1, the major difference between CAT I and APV I is more demanding requirements in terms of vertical alarm limit and TTA, resulting in a reduction from 50m to 35m for the vertical protection level and from 10s to 6s for TTA.

The KASS system is designed according to the same architectural principles as the European EGNOS system, which complies with the CAT I service requirements concerning TTA. Therefore, all the elements justifying the TTA performance developed for the EGNOS system apply to the KASS system without any restrictions. This aspect is thus not considered a difficulty.

The main challenge in achieving the CAT I service level concerns the domain of vertical protection volume. Currently, KASS is compliant to APV I precision approach procedure but is limited for the achievement of CAT I service level due to the impact of ionosphere error estimation. With the low number of available measurements from only seven collocated stations, it results in very high integrity bounds (GIVE), which directly affects protection volumes in the vertical direction.

To overcome the limitation of the available measurement volume using only the contributions from the GNSS system, two steps are being considered.

The first step is to include new observables by incorporating measurements from the Galileo constellation into the ionosphere estimation algorithms. It should be noted that Galileo measurements are not incorporated into other navigation algorithms, meaning the system does not monitor the Galileo constellation or calculate any orbit or clock corrections for it.

The second step is to add stations outside of Korea, which would provide better observability in both the dynamics of ionosphere activity and orbit estimation. This addition of external stations would enhance the overall measurement coverage and improve the accuracy of the estimation process.

For all these assessments, fault-free synthetic data are used (analyzed September 3-5, 2002), allowing a first level of performance the KASS system may reach for the provision of CAT I approach service. The results are produced with the same set of KPS navigation algorithms.

CAT I Performances Reached with Introduction of Galileo 

The first extended configuration considers the introduction of Galileo measurements and the current KASS reference station network.

The simulations is realized with:

• Seven reference stations (Yangju, Gwangju, Jeju AP, Jeju TS, Yeongdo, Dodong and Yangyang).

• 27 GPS: for satellites and ionosphere monitoring.

• 24 Galileo: for ionosphere monitoring only.

The different cases presented indicate the availability of CAT I by monitoring the satellites from a minimum elevation angle of 5° with at least one station in the network, then at 10° and 15°.

This experimentation shows CAT I service level can be reached by introducing more observables for the ionosphere monitoring. Indeed, the availability at 99% is reached with the constraint of satellites monitored from 5° elevation by one station. 

First, these new measurements enrich the internal ionosphere model and then contribute to reduce the ionosphere correction errors.

However, because of the direct impact of the integrity bounds on the calculation of protection volumes, the most visible impact of these new measurements on achieving availability is their contribution to reducing GIVE at each Ionosphere Grid Point. 

Second, we observe a clear and direct dependence between the availability of CAT I service level and the minimum angle of satellite monitoring. This phenomenon is the result of waveform deformation (EWF for Evil Wave Form) processing in navigation algorithms, which requires at least one multi-correlator station to lock onto a satellite.

In all maps the integrity target is held with a good margin:

• The maximum satellite Safety Index is 0.77.

• The maximum Ionospheric Grid Point Safety Index is 0.76.

• Integrity is ensured as long as the Safety Index is below 5.33.

Focusing on the Incheon Airport location [127° E;37° N], Figure 3 shows performance in terms of position error and protection levels achieved for Sept. 4, 2022.

The VPL evolves mainly between 15m and 30m, except for a few minutes where it goes above the alarm limit of 35m. The HPL always remain below 30m. 

CAT I Performances Reached with Reference Station Extension (Large Network)

The second extended configuration considers the introduction of Galileo measurements and additional reference stations located outside South Korea landmass to build a large station network.

The added KASS reference stations are depicted in Figure 4.
Five new references stations are considered: Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), New Delhi (India), Perth (Australia), Wellington (New Zealand) and Hawaii.

The simulation is performed with:

• 12 reference stations.

• 27 GPS: for satellites and ionosphere monitoring.

• 24 Galileo: for ionosphere monitoring only.

Figure 5 shows the availability performance results with satellite monitoring performed using measurements at a minimum of 15° elevation. 

• Again, in all maps, the integrity target is held with a good margin.

• The maximum satellite Safety Index is 0.92.

• The maximum Ionospheric Grid Point Safety Index is 1.33.

In this case, CAT I availability performance is improved with 12 stations. The effect is not on the reduction of integrity value (GIVE) regarding the ionosphere, as the additional five stations are too far away to have an impact. However, having remote stations allows for much better satellite monitoring. This is clearly visible in Figure 6. 

Because satellites are monitored much earlier with 12 stations, the effect of EWF monitoring becomes negligible by removing satellites if they are not seen by at least one station at more than 10° or 15°. As soon as a satellite becomes visible in the service area, there is always a remote station that can see the satellite with a good elevation.

However, EWF monitoring has a noticeable effect in the case with seven KRS, where the availability decreases as the minimum angle increases.

Focusing on Incheon Airport location [127° E;37° N], Figure 7 shows performance in position error and protection levels achieved on September 4, 2002.

This approach has also high interest in the frame of geographical extension of KASS service, for instance the APV I coverage is extended. Table 2 shows the comparison between the APV I availability with the seven KRS and 12 KRS networks.

Again, in all maps the integrity target is held with a good margin:

• The maximum satellite Safety Index is 0.92.

• The maximum Ionospheric Grid Point Safety Index is 1.33.

CAT I Performances Reached with Reference Station Extension (Narrow Network)

The third extended configuration considers the introduction of Galileo measurements and additional reference stations located outside the South Korea landmass to build a narrow station network.

Added KASS reference stations are depicted in Figure 8. Five new reference stations are considered: Shangai, Dalian, Mudanjiang (China), Izumo and Goto Tsubaki (Japan).

Figure 9 shows the availability performance results with a satellite monitoring performed using measurements with a minimum of 15° elevation. 

Here again, in all maps the integrity target is held with a good margin:

• The maximum satellite Safety Index is 0.87.

• The maximum Ionospheric Grid Point Safety Index is 0.85.

Focusing on the Incheon Airport location [127° E;37° N], Figure 10 shows the performances achieved on Sept. 4, 2002.

Much like the previous cases, the VPL remains around 15 to 25m, except for a spike around 5 p.m. The HPL remains around 10m the entire day. The narrow network extension has a benefit aspect on the navigation error NSE, mainly because of better ionosphere corrections accuracy.

Conclusion

The experimentation shows the KASS system evolution makes it possible to achieve the CAT I operational approach. The system’s adherence to architectural principles warrant its ability to meet the TTA requirements. Leveraging the Galileo system, the introduction of new GNSS measurements with the unchanged KRS network results reduces ionosphere integrity bounds, further enhancing the legacy system’s overall availability below the vertical alert limit compatible to CAT I. The study has also envisaged the addition of new external reference stations whose results have established a significant impact on satellite monitoring. With these new adjunctions, the KASS system would improve its capabilities to provide effective and accurate positioning services, proposing for safer and more efficient navigation in the CAT I operational approach.

References 

(1) “Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPS) Annex 10 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation,” Volume I, up to Amendment 86, July 2006, ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization). 

(2) Houllier, Carolle, Authié, Thierry, Comelli, Guillaume, Lee, ByungSeok, Lee, Eunsung, Yun, Youngsun, SIN, Cheon Sig, “KASS: The Future of SBAS in Korea.” Inside GNSS, Junary–February 2023, pp 50-57

(3) Thierry Authié, Mickael Dall’Orso, Sébastien Trilles, Heonho Choi, Heesung Kim, Jae-Eun Lee, Eunsung Lee, Gi-Wook Nam, “Performances Monitoring and Analysis for KASS,” In Proc. of ION GNSS+, pp 958–978, 2017

(4) “Minimum Operational Performance Standards (MOPS) for Global Positioning System/Wide Area Augmentation System Airborne Equipment,” RTCA/DO-229D with Change 1, February 1, 2013.

Authors

Thierry Authié is a specialized engineer in space flight dynamics, precise orbit determination and navigation. He received his MS degree in Applied Mathematics from the INSA, Toulouse (France) in 2004. He currently works on SBAS and navigation algorithm at Thales Alenia Space.

Guillaume Comelli
is a system engineer and system architect at Thales Alenia Space. He received his MS degree in electrical engineering from the INSA, Lyon (France) in 1994. He has been the Technical Manager for the KASS program since 2019.

Sébastien Trilles is an expert in orbitography and integrity algorithms at Thales Alenia Space in Toulouse, France. He holds a PhD in Pure Mathematics from the Paul Sabatier University and an advanced MS in Space Technology from ISAE-Supaero. He heads the Performance and Processing Department where high precise algorithms are designed as orbit determination, clock synchronization, time transfer, reference time generation, integrity and ionosphere modelling algorithms for GNSS systems and augmentation.

ByungSeok Lee received a BS degree in electric and electrical engineering, a MS degree and a PhD in electrical and computer engineering from University of Seoul, Seoul, Korea, in 2002, 2009, 2015, respectively. He has conducted research related to a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) including the Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) in Korea Aerospace Research Institute. He was in charge of the KASS program from November 2020 to February 2024. He is currently responsible for the entire KASS operation and maintenance.

Minhyuk Son received his BS and MS degrees in electrical engineering from Daegu University, South Korea, in 2009, and 2011, respectively. He joined the Korea Aerospace Research Institute in 2011 and is currently in charge of operation safety technology development for KASS.

Cheon Sig SIN received a BS degree in electric and electrical engineering from Hanyang University, and a MS degree from Chungnam University, Korea in 1990, 2000 respectively. He conducts research related to a GNSS Signal Interference Detection and Mitigation Technology and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) including the Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) in Electronics and Telecommunication Research Institute. He has been in charge of the GK-3 SBAS Payload Development program since April 2021.

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This service offers free real-time precise positioning corrections to all Galileo system users. The first version of the HADG, also developed by GMV, is currently operational and provides users with the Initial Service (Phase 1) of the HAS.

The new contract, with a duration of up to 45 months and a budget of up to 12 million euros, includes the design, development, deployment, support to commissioning and, optionally, maintenance of an improved version of the HADG. This new version will also incorporate the new functionalities required to deliver the services planned for Phase 2 (Full Service) of the HAS deployment.

Specifically, the new version of the HAS data generator will:

• Improve the performance level of Service Level 1 (SL1): The deployment of a new version of GMV’s magicPPP^® algorithms for precise corrections calculation and the expansion of the ground station network will provide global coverage and enhance the accuracy and availability of the SL1 service.

• Implement a new Service Level 2 (SL2): This is a new regional service that will be available only in Europe. By transmitting atmospheric corrections, it will make it possible to reduce the convergence time required to achieve maximum accuracy at user-level.
• Implement a new functionality for the authentication of HAS corrections transmitted through the Galileo constellation, thereby increasing user security and confidence in the service.

Since 2020, GMV has led the development of the Galileo HAS data generator following the award of the first contract with EUSPA. Since its operational launch in January 2023, the Galileo HAS service has provided accuracy for advanced applications in sectors such as navigation, agriculture, geodesy, and autonomous driving. In the new contract, GMV maintains its role as the main contractor and leader of an industrial consortium that includes atmospheric modelling experts from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) and cybersecurity specialists from Sidertia.

According to Miguel Romay, General Manager of Satellite Navigation Systems at GMV: “The new contract to evolve the Galileo HAS service consolidates GMV’s commitment to technological excellence and its leadership capacity in key projects for Europe. This achievement reinforces GMV’s role in Galileo and allows the company to continue innovating to offer transformative solutions that benefit society.”

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HydroGNSS is one of a series of ESA missions, the so-called Scout missions, part of the agency’s FutureEO program, designed to quickly and cheaply demonstrate new Earth observation techniques using small satellites.

GNSS signals are differentially reflected or scattered by the Earth’s surface, as affected by water content, specifically permittivity, surface roughness and overlying vegetation. Once analyzed, these reflected signals can provide information about various geophysical properties. Special innovations introduced by HydroGNSS are to include dual-polarization and dual-frequency (L1/E1 and L5/E5) reception, and collection of high-rate coherent reflections.

Compact but powerful Earth observation platform

HydroGNSS uses the SSTL-21 platform, measuring 45 cm x 45 cm x 70 cm and weighing around 65 kg total per satellite. The payload will be operated at near 100% duty, and can support high data download rates using an X-Band transmitter. Star cameras provide precise attitude measurements, and a xenon propulsion system permits orbit phasing, collision avoidance and supports satellite disposal at the end of the mission. The two HydroGNSS satellites will take a ride-share launch into a 550 km sun-synchronous orbit, phased apart by 180 degrees to maximize coverage.

The SGR-ReSI-Z payload is a delay Doppler mapping receiver, tracking the direct GPS and Galileo signals through a zenith antenna and processing the reflected signals from a nadir antenna to create delay Doppler maps (DDMs). The zenith and nadir antennas employ all-metal patch technology, enabling the reception of dual-frequency and dual-polarized signals. Low noise amplifiers include blackbody loads to provide calibration for the amplitude measurement. Generated measurement datasets can be stored in the satellite’s data recorder and downloaded to ground stations at allocated passes several times per day.

Speaking at his annual press briefing in Paris earlier this month (January 2025), ESA Director General Joseph Aschbacher said, “We now expect to launch HydroGNSS in the fourth quarter of 2025, as one of the three so-far-identified Scout missions, which is a series based on smaller satellites, lasting three years of development work and with a relatively limited budget of roughly 30 million for industrial contracts. We see the Scout missions as something very important for our space science work. The scientific community is evaluating them and these are the ones selected and endorsed by them.”

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