EGNOS Capability Enhanced with Addition of New Generation Transponders

As part of the actions undertaken by the European Commission to upgrade and
maintain the EGNOS system, on 22 March two geostationary transponders – GEO-2 -were successfully launched on board the SES ASTRA 5B satellite from the European Space Port in Kourou, French Guiana. The new generation transponders will provide higher accuracy positioning signals to both citizens and professionals using EGNOS enabled receivers and ensure the continuity and quality of the EGNOS open service and safety-of-life services for the next 15 years.

Together with the previous transponder replenishment on the SES-5 satellite
launched in July 2012, GEO-2 will soon be introduced in current EGNOS operations
and will support the new EGNOS generation (EGNOS V3). EGNOS V3 will provide dual-frequency signals on L1 and L5 bands and augment both GPS and Galileo.
EGNOS, the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service, is Europe’s first venture into satellite navigation and a major stepping-stone towards Galileo, Europe’s future global satellite navigation system. EGNOS is owned by the European Union and, since 1 January 2014, its operations and service provision are provided by the European GNSS Agency (GSA).

“The successful launch is an important achievement in view of the enhanced performance that EGNOS will provide both today and in the future,” said Carlo des Dorides, Executive Director of the GSA. “This will further expand the quality of the services provided by EGNOS.”

Since 2009 EGNOS has provided both correction and integrity information on the GPS system, delivering opportunities for Europeans to use the more accurate positioning data for improving existing services or developing a wide range of new applications. For example, the EGNOS safety-of-life service enables safer and more flexible landings, including under bad weather conditions and at less well-equipped airports. Today there are more than 100 airports in Europe using EGNOS.