Galileo calling Spaceopal

galileo calling

In December 2016, The European GNSS Agency (GSA) announced that the tender to operate the EU’s Galileo navigation system had been awarded to Spaceopal, a joint venture between Italy’s Telespazio (Leonardo-Finmeccanica/Thales) and the DLR GfR mbH, a subsidiary of the German Space Agency (DLR e.V.). Managing Directors, Mr Paolo Minaciacchi and Mr André Bauerhin, spoke to Industry Europe about the company’s capabilities and its continuing success story.

From November 2010 until the end of June 2017, Munich-based Spaceopal was the prime contractor responsible for Galileo operations under the Galileo Full Operational Capability (FOC) WP6 Operations Framework contract, regulating the servicing of the two Galileo control centres and external Service Centres through a worldwide network of ground stations. In July 2017, after a two-year international competitive tender run by the European GNSS Agency, it was decided that Spaceopal GmbH would continue to operate the Galileo satellite fleet with greatly extended scope under the Galileo Service Operator (GSOp) contract issued by the European GNSS Agency (GSA).

The company that will ensure the provision of the Galileo services to the worldwide community was established in Munich in 2009 as a joint venture by two shareholders, DLR GfR mbH and Telespazio SpA, the Italian joint venture of Leonardo (67 per cent) and Thales (33 per cent). The company portfolio includes the management of Satellite and Mission Operations, Network Services, Integrated Logistics Services, LEOP and IOT campaign, Hosting Services as well as enabling services such as the provision of Timing, Geodetic Reference Products and System Performance and KPI products.

european partnership

Spaceopal inherits Europe’s largest space operations service contract ever placed in open competition to an industrial company. Now, through servicing 22 satellites in orbit including related ground infrastructures dispersed worldwide, Spaceopal can be considered one of the biggest space operations service providers in Europe. Spaceopal employs very competent and highly skilled people, flexible and effective to quickly respond to customers’ needs, and therefore able to grow in the very competitive space environment. In order to accomplish all tasks, Spaceopal relies on a valued industrial subcontractor chain cooperating successfully with this ‘core team’ for a long time. Major suppliers include the shareholders of Spaceopal (DLR GfR mbH and Telespazio SpA) and other European top

Galileo Control Centre in oberpfaffenhofen

ranking companies and agencies such as INECO SA, SES Techcom SA, Vitrociset Belgium Sprl, T-Systems GmbH, Thales Alenia Space France SAS as well as DLR, ESA, CNES and INRIM.

Spaceopal is headquartered in Munich, close to one of the Galileo Control Centres in Oberpfaffenhofen. The company runs several operational sites located in Germany, Italy and Spain where its engineering, operations and maintenance teams work together with other international teams from the industrial chain to accomplish the day-to-day service activities of the Galileo System to provide reliable and continuous signals to users worldwide.

Serving the world

The company’s core business is centred around the Galileo System. In December 2016 Spaceopal was awarded a contract by the GSA for the GALILEO Service Operations for a period of 10 years, which is key to the further development of Spaceopal’s business. Spaceopal is responsible for guaranteeing that the constellation is delivering high-quality navigation services worldwide on a continuous basis. Mr Minciacchi reveals that the company is already preparing for the future and is currently involved in the GALILEO Second Generation project.

“As Galileo is a system that provides services to users all over the world, we consider ourselves implicitly present around the globe. In terms of physical presence, we focus on the European market but operations outside Europe are being explored with our shareholders in the medium term, should future demands require this. Our scope of work includes the Service Operations Management, Design and Implementation, Ground and Space Operations, Logistics and Maintenance as well as global Support Services to End Users. In that sense Spaceopal is providing a worldwide service.”

Key contributor

The company’s unique operating model and its superb quality have been duly recognised – on 24 January 2018, on behalf of the entire Spaceopal team, the directors of the company received a bronze plated award from ESA in recognition of the successful deployment of 18 Galileo satellites.

Spaceopal can look back on more than a decade of partnership and collaboration with ESA in implementing and servicing major infrastructures such as GCCs, IOT as well as GDDN and LEOP services to enable these major achievements. Since 1 July 2017, Spaceopal has continued this success story, now under a new contract with the GSA as the Galileo Service Operator, say the Managing Directors. In terms of the future, they add that the company sees huge potential in mass-market GNSS services and applications as well as related technology developments.

The European satellite navigation programmes Galileo and EGNOS are important elements to boost the international competitiveness of the European space and high-tech sector. Through its core business activities, Spaceopal GmbH is making a key contribution to Europe’s performance in the field of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and the navigation and position and timing related services development. n

Paolo minciacchi, managing Director André Bauerhin, managing Director