IT HERALDS an independence day of sorts. As New Scientist went to press, the European Space Agency (ESA) was gearing up to launch the first two of its Galileo navigation satellites, the beginning of the end of European dependence on the US GPS fleet.
The eventual Galileo fleet of 30 satellites promises to boost both navigation and science: combining information from GPS and Galileo should allow positions to be determined more accurately than GPS alone. It will also be a civilian venture, whereas GPS is run by the US military.
Don’t hold your breath though: the endeavour is already 12 years behind …
