13 December 2024

Beyond Musk’s Starlink: these satellites run our daily lives with precision

Paulina Okunytė

Have you heard of Galileo or Copernicus's satellite networks? Even if the names don’t ring a bell, chances are you already use them.

What powers the geolocation system used by your food delivery app or other location-based services? Or provides the satellite images you see in the media? Or helps scientists prove that climate change is real?

All this data comes from European satellite networks, aptly named after renowned astronomers Galileo and Copernicus. These networks provide the most accurate and extensive satellite data worldwide and are free of charge.

In the corridors of the SDSC 2024 conference in Tallinn, Estonia, I met Rodrigo De Costa, Executive Director of the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA). He explained why everyone should know about the Galileo and Copernicus satellite networks and revealed what is at the core of the space economy.

If you have a cellphone in Europe, you’ve tried Galileo

Galileo is a satellite navigation system similar to the US-made Global Positioning System (GPS). Since its launch in 2016, the service has had around four billion users, and all smartphones sold in the European market are Galileo-enabled.

No comments: