First European satellite navigation service passes flight tests
European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the first European satellite navigation service, has passed a series of international air traffic flight trials. During the tests, the French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC) test plane made a number of approaches and landings using the new procedures, in each case aligning itself with the runway's axis and then following a descent path to touchdown. The quality of the EGNOS signals was tested by comparing the landing phases guided by satellite with landings using traditional means such as the Instrument Landing System (ILS). The results of the trials show that EGNOS signals allow approaches and landings that meet the safety standards that govern international air traffic. Currently in pre-operational service, EGNOS will be certified in 2008 for safety-of-life applications such as air traffic control. EGNOS will provide a precision of better than two metres, compared to 15 to 20 metres for the Global Positioning System (GPS) alone. In addition, there is a guarantee as to the quality of the signals. If a problem is detected, an alarm will be sent to the pilot. Systems that are equivalent to EGNOS have been set up in the United States, Japan and India, and these systems are compatible and interoperable. So, an aircraft with a suitable receiver could operate in any of these countries as it would always have satellite navigation support available without changing equipment. The long term plan for European civil aviation authorities is to combine all the existing navigation systems so as to ensure greater assistance for pilots and the best possible air traffic safety in Europe and the world. EGNOS is a joint venture of the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Commission (EC) and Eurocontrol, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation. It is Europe's contribution to the first stage of the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and a precursor to Galileo, the full global satellite navigation system currently under development in Europe.