GALILEO (GNSS First Generation)

ESA GNSS v1

Mission Profile

GALILEO (Global Navigation Satellite System, First Generation) is the European Union's independent satellite navigation constellation, providing positioning, navigation, and timing services to European and global users with higher accuracy and civilian guarantees than GPS. First Generation satellites began operational service in 2016 after initial test satellites from 2005, building toward a full constellation of 30 satellites in medium Earth orbit at approximately 23,000 km altitude. Galileo achieves better than 1-meter horizontal accuracy for civilian users and sub-centimeter accuracy for high-precision applications, and operates independently of US GPS and Russian GLONASS to ensure European strategic autonomy in navigation. The system supports safety-critical transportation, precision agriculture, emergency response, and timing for financial and telecommunications networks across Europe and worldwide.