Galileo, the EU's satellite navigation system, is currently affected by a technical incident related to its ground infrastructure. The incident has led to a temporary interruption of the Galileo initial navigation and timing services, with the exception of the Galileo Search and Rescue (SAR) service. The SAR service - used for locating and helping people in distress situations for example at sea or mountains - is unaffected and remains operational.
Galileo provides ‘initial services’ since
December 2016. During this initial "pilot" phase preceding the ‘full operational services’ phase, Galileo signals are used in combination with other satellite navigation systems, which allows for the detection of technical issues before the system becomes fully operational.
Experts are working to restore the situation as soon as possible. An Anomaly Review Board has been immediately set up to analyse the exact root cause and to implement recovery actions.
As foreseen in case of technical incidents, information Notices to Galileo Users (NAGU) were already published on the Galileo Service Centre website:
- on 11 July 2019: https://www.gsc-europa.eu/notice-advisory-to-galileo-users-nagu-2019025
- and on 13 July 2019 :
Users will be informed regularly, including on the service recovery date.
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