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12/6/05

heise online - One of the two main Galileo control centers will be in Germany

heise online

One of the two main Galileo control centers will be in Germany

Apparently, Germany's persistence in the dispute about responsibilities in the future European satellite navigation system Galileo has paid off: on December 6, a decision was reached to have one of the two main control centers located at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in the Bavarian town of Oberpfaffenhofen. DLR Director Achim Bachem told heise online that the agreement reached also means that Oberpfaffen will also be handling normal operations for Galileo in the next 20 years. The second main control center will be in the Italian town of Fucino near Rome, with the headquarters for Galileo probably in Toulouse, France. Germany will also be home to a performance center for quality assurance and is also in the running for the final concession agreement to be signed next year as part of the TeleOp consortium, which includes Deutsche Telekom subsidiary T-Systems, the commercial division of DLR, aerospace company EADS, and – as a minor stakeholder – the Bavarian State Investment Bank. Bachem told heise online, "We are very satisfied with the outcome of this meeting." He explained that Germany now has no reason to freeze any other funding for the Galileo project.

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