ESA selects GMV for LEO-PNT constellation

GMV won a 78.4 million euro ($85 million) contract to lead the European Space Agency‘s (ESA) mission to develop a five-satellite constellation in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT). 

The contract includes the design and development of the payloads for the constellation, the launch services, the ground-segment-as-a-service (GSaaS), the development of test user receivers, system operations and demonstrations of LEO-PNT services with users.

The LEO-PNT satellites will aim to transmit signals in the UHF, L-, S-, and C-band with signals currently transmitted by navigation satellites such as Galileo and GPS. The company will also demonstrate its “LEO shield” integrity determination function, to assess GNSS signals received onboard the LEO satellites. 

GMV will be responsible for the complete end-to-end space mission that includes key partners such as OHB System AG, Alén Space, Beyond Gravity, and Indra. OHB System AG will lead the development and manufacturing of the four LEO satellites; Alén Space will provide the demonstrator cubesat platforms as well as payload capabilities; Beyond Gravity will develop the PNT payloads; and Indra will be coordinating the demonstration. 

GMV aims to launch the first satellite, based on the 12U cubesat architecture, within the next two years to perform initial testing. The four additional small satellites will be launched to the constellation by 2027.