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Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), has signed a new contract worth €51 million with the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) to extend the operational life of the European Satellite-Based Augmentation System (EGNOS). Named LIFEX 1 (Life Extension Phase 1), this contract will ensure that EGNOS V2 continues to provide reliable, secure, and high-performance navigation services for Europe’s aviation, maritime, land transport, mapping and agricultural sectors beyond 2028.
EGNOS system enhances the accuracy, reliability and integrity of positioning signals by improving the performance of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), such as GPS and, in the future, Galileo. As part of this contract, Thales Alenia Space will address EGNOS V2 critical system upgrades and infrastructure improvements, reinforcing the system’s resilience and operational durability. These updates will focus on enhancing security measures, modernizing components, and ensuring the ongoing reliability of EGNOS’s “Safety of Life” service, which plays a key role in aviation, enabling accurate approaches at European airports without requiring ground guidance systems. Operational since 2011, this service has significantly improved operational safety and efficiency for the greater benefit of European operators.
”EGNOS is a key asset for Europe, ensuring safer and more efficient transport across multiple sectors. This contract will secure the extension of the system in operations, making the service more robust to support a growing number of users and strengthening the European Union’s satellite navigation capabilities,” said Rodrigo da Costa, Executive Director of EUSPA.
“We are very proud to support our client EUSPA in extending the lifetime of an operational system that plays a key role in European navigation every day. With this latest contract, Thales Alenia Space demonstrates its European and export leadership in satellite navigation and contributes to the success of the EGNOS system in Europe” said David Philipona, Vice-President Navigation for Thales Alenia Space in France. “This is in line with Thales Alenia Space's commitment to provide reliable and innovative navigation solutions to ensure safer and more efficient transport across the continent and across the world.”
About EGNOS
EGNOS is one of the European Union’s flagship space programs, designed to improve the performance of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), such as GPS and, in the future, Galileo. It enhances the accuracy, reliability, and integrity of satellite positioning signals, ensuring more precise and dependable navigation data for a wide range of industries. EGNOS’s “Safety of Life” service is essential for aviation, enabling precision approaches to airports without requiring traditional ground-based guidance systems.
First deployed in 2005 and providing operational “open” service since 2009, the current EGNOS system was developed by Thales Alenia Space as prime contractor and is managed by the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA).
Global Impact: EGNOS leading the way
The EGNOS system’s success has influenced the development of similar systems worldwide. For example, the Korean Space Agency chose Thales Alenia Space in 2019 to supply the Korean Augmentation Satellite System (KASS) which is based on EGNOS principles. The system is already being used to enhance aviation safety, after the first signals were successfully transmitted in December 2022.
In sub-Saharan Africa, ASECNA (Agency for Aerial Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar) chose Thales Alenia Space in 2019 to carry out a Phase B project for a Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS) in the region including delivery of a pre-operational service in 2020, to provide enhanced satellite-based navigation for aviation, particularly for flights into and out of areas with limited ground infrastructure. Nigerian operator NIGCOMSAT and Thales Alenia Space performed successful demonstration flights in Lomé and Douala in 2021, using the SBAS signal they have transmitted in the Africa and Indian Ocean region since September 2020 the first SBAS service provided in this region, via the NIGCOMSAT-1R satellite. They also carried out a series of demonstrations of additional services provided by the A-SBAS system in Brazzaville, Congo.
Thales Alenia Space: a long-standing leader in satellite navigation
Thales Alenia Space brings over 40 years of expertise in satellite design, development, and operations to the EGNOS project. The company has been instrumental in the creation, maintenance, and evolution of EGNOS since its inception, ensuring its effectiveness as a critical tool for European navigation systems.
EGNOS V2, which has been delivering the Safety of Life service since 2011, will continue to operate under Thales Alenia Space’s guidance, with a focus on infrastructure modernization and obsolescence management.
About EUSPA
The European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) (euspa.europa.eu) provides safe and secure European satellite navigation services, promotes the commercialization of Galileo, EGNOS, and Copernicus data and services and coordinates the EU’s forthcoming governmental satellite communications programme GOVSATCOM and the EU SST Front Desk. EUSPA is responsible for the security accreditation of all the EU Space Programme components. By fostering the development of an innovative and competitive space sector and engaging with the entire EU Space community, EUSPA contributes to the European green and digital transition, the safety and security of the Union and its citizens, while reinforcing its autonomy and resilience.
About Thales Alenia Space
Drawing on over 40 years of experience and a unique combination of skills, expertise and cultures, Thales Alenia Space (thalesaleniaspace.com) delivers cost-effective solutions for telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, environmental management, exploration, science and orbital infrastructures. Governments and private industry alike count on Thales Alenia Space to design satellite-based systems that provide anytime, anywhere connections and positioning, monitor our planet, enhance management of its resources, and explore our Solar System and beyond. Thales Alenia Space sees space as a new horizon, helping to build a better, more sustainable life on Earth. A joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), Thales Alenia Space also teams up with Telespazio to form the parent companies’ Space Alliance, which offers a complete range of services. Thales Alenia Space posted consolidated revenues of approximately 2.2 billion euros in 2023 and has around 8,600 employees in 16 sites in 8 countries across Europe.
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