Following a complex tendering process that began in January 2015, the European GNSS Agency (GSA) awarded the Galileo Service Operator (GSOp) contract, with a value of up to €1.5 billion (US$1.56 billion), to Spaceopal at a special event in Brussels today (December 15, 2016).
The ceremony was featured in an event organized on the occasion of the European Commission’s declaration of Galileo Initial Services.
Following a complex tendering process that began in January 2015, the European GNSS Agency (GSA) awarded the Galileo Service Operator (GSOp) contract, with a value of up to €1.5 billion (US$1.56 billion), to Spaceopal at a special event in Brussels today (December 15, 2016).
The ceremony was featured in an event organized on the occasion of the European Commission’s declaration of Galileo Initial Services.
The 10-year contract covers the operation and maintenance of the Galileo satellite system and its committed performance level: in particular, the operations and control of the system, the logistics and maintenance of the systems, and infrastructureas well as the user support services. Spaceopal is a joint venture between Telespazio and the German Space Agency (DLR).
“With its emphasis on service performance, this contract will shape the future of Galileo,” said GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides. “We look forward to building a strong partnership with Spaceopal as Galileo moves towards full operational capability under the responsibility of the GSA from January 2017.”
Specifically, under GSA oversight, the contract awarded to Spaceopal includes the following responsibilities:
• Secure operations of Galileo from two mission control centers (GCC), located in Germany and Italy, and the European GNSS Service Center (GSC) in Spain for user support services
• management of the Galileo Data Distribution Network (GDDN)
• integrated logistics support and maintenance for the entire space and ground infrastructure;
• monitoring ofthe system performance;
• support the completion of the Galileo infrastructure and associated launches. To ensure a balance between ongoing deployment needs and the priority of the service provision, the contract includes clear and tangible performance indicators (KPIs).
Spaceopal has served as the contractor for Galileo operations since 2010 under the Galileo Full Operational Capability (FOC) Operations Framework Contract.
“Spaceopal is committed to continuing to support the deployment and completion of the Galileo system,” says Spaceopal CEOGiuseppe Lenzo. “We are proud that the GSA has selected us to further contribute by bringing the Galileo signal in space to users and providing best-in-class satellite navigation services.”
The contract was signed by des Dorides, Spaceopal’s CEO Giuseppe Lenzo, and Simon Plum, the company’s COO, at an official ceremony held today in Brussels.
