GMV is leading a major satellite navigation project in collaboration with the South African National Space Agency (SANSA).

The project, SBAS Awareness and Training for South Africa (SATSA), will increase the technological navigation capacity in the South African region ultimately improving location identification and tracking capabilities for Safety-of-Life Services especially during emergency or disaster situations.

Forming part of the European Commission's 7th Framework Program (FP7), SATSA is set to run for 18 months during which GMV will install testing platforms in South Africa for conducting practical tests.

The SANSA Space Operations directorate at Hartebeesthoek provides amongst other things TT and C services, launch support, in-orbit testing, mission control and space navigation for local and international spacecraft.

"GMV's track record in the field of satellite navigation prompted the European Commission and the South African National Space Agency to entrust GMV with this project for laying down the bases of EGNOS deployment in South Africa," said Miguel Romay, GMV's Executive Director of GNSS.

"GMV's knowledge and experienced team of professionals positions GMV as a leader in navigation systems and various Global Navigation Satellite System applications, enabling GMV to become a pioneer in the use of GPS, GLONASS and EGNOS signals."

Before the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) is implemented in South Africa, GMV is responsible for training a team of engineers to successfully lay the groundwork and carry out SANSA's strategic navigation plan.

SATSA offers four satellite navigation training courses, from basic to advanced level, and also presents three application evaluation trials using testing platforms to produce realistic navigation signals apt for use by civil aviation.

The first training session was held in May at the SANSA Space Operations Minitrack training facility at Hartebeesthoek and dealt with the basic aspects of satellite navigation.

The course was conducted by doctors Alberto Madrazo Fernandez and Jose Caro Ramon, from GMV. The next training session will be held in July 2012 and the testing period will be conducted from February to April 2013. These trials will focus on vehicle logistics, agriculture and GIS ground truthing.