[Satellite TODAY 03-07-13] SES’ service company SES TechCom has signed a contract with BT to provide satellite communications services for the Galileo Data Dissemination Network (GDDN) to support the Galileo Operator Spaceopal. Under the agreement, SES TechCom will deploy, maintain and support Satcom ground infrastructure, provide satellite capacity and monitor and control the GDDN satellite network. 

   Galileo, managed by the European Space Agency on behalf of the European Union, is Europe’s initiative for a global satellite navigation system, designed to provide service under civilian control. GDDN interconnects the two Galileo Control Centers in Italy and Germany to an extensive network of sensor stations, uplink stations and Telemetry, Tracking & Control (TT&C) stations distributed around the world. It also provides connectivity to Galileo’s satellite test and launch facilities, security monitoring centers, network management facilities, and external entities.

   BT is responsible for the design, deployment and operation of the network, and Spaceopal is Galileo’s operations contractor.