EGNOS System Evolutions in Europe and within the International Multi-SBAS context

Abstract

EGNOS is the first generation satellite navigation system developed in Europe. The Implementation phase started in 1999 and the entry into Safety Of Life operations has been declared in 2011. It has been designed for stringent Civil Aviation operations (up to Precision Approach Category 1) which are guaranteed all over the EU and is compliant to the International ICAO Standards. The system concept corresponds to the SBAS (defined by ICAO), standing for Satellite Based Augmentation Systems. It is based on a ground segment augmenting existing GNSS signals and delivering to the end users in quasi real time, a very reliable set of corrections, then improving the accuracy and the integrity of the positioning. EGNOS is the second system of a worldwide family of similar regional systems of other regions of the world (North America, Japan, India, South Korea, China, etc…). As these systems have to be designed, qualified, operated and maintained in full interoperability with the others of the same family, an international working group called SBAS Interoperability Working Group was created in 1997 by the US FAA and ESA, which has grown since 1997, now gathering more than 10 SBAS Development Agencies / Service Providers. This paper, in its first part, will provide a detailed update on the status, organisation and main achievements of this International SBAS Interoperability Working Group, and in particular, present the status of the Global SBAS project combining all SBAS development and modernization projects around the world, for an objective to offer a quasi-global coverage of the SBAS services. At European level, for EGNOS, the Implementation Phase of the second generation of EGNOS called EGNOS V3 has started (January 2018). EGNOS V3 is designed to augment, not only the GPS L1 signals but new signals from both GPS and Galileo in dual frequency L1 and L5, and will then offer significantly enhanced services. The paper will present in its second part the benefits expected from EGNOS V3 and the on-going R&D activities to prepare the future evolutions (post EGNOS V3) addressing, in particular, services outside Aviation.