Oberpfaffenhofen – Telespazio, a Finmecanica / Thales company, and the German Space Agency (DLR DeutschesZentrum für Luft-und Raumfahrt) renewed the cooperation agreement to manage the operations of the European satellite navigation program “Galileo”. The agreement is implemented through the Spaceopal GmbH joint venture, founded in 2010 by Telespazio and DLR Space Applications (GFR), a subsidiary of the DLR. Spaceopal is responsible for controlling the satellites and the Galileo mission, data processing, and the navigation systems monitoring signal reception worldwide. These activities are carried out by Spaceopal through two Galileo Control Centers in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, and Fucino, Italy. The two control centers are already operating and managing the first four satellites of the Galileo fleet, which in 2014 will add two additional satellites. (9Colonne)
