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News announcement24 January 2023Joint Research Centre1 min read

World’s most accurate positioning service, Galileo’s HAS, goes live

EU’s global navigation satellite system Galileo reaches another milestone today: its High Accuracy Service (HAS) becomes operational, offering unprecedented positioning accuracy. The JRC contributed to the definition, testing and validation of HAS.

Visual illustrating a satellite
HAS will be instrumental for the use of applications requiring precise localisation, such as deployment of autonomus driving vehicles, safety road technology and drones.
© EU, 2021

Galileo’s positioning service, the High Accuracy Service (HAS) is now freely available to users around the globe. It targets a positioning accuracy better than 20 cm in the horizontal domain and 40 cm in the vertical domain, in nominal conditions of use.

The new service will be instrumental for the use of applications requiring precise localisation, such as deployment of autonomous driving vehicles, safety road technology and drones. Other applications concern agriculture, rail, aviation, maritime, space, consumer solutions and geomatics.

Working until now in testing mode, HAS ensures high accuracy corrections via two dissemination channels: E6-B Signal in Space (SiS) and a terrestrial link, which provides an alternate source to the SiS through internet.

JRC contribution

Over the years, the JRC has contributed to the definition, testing and validation of Galileo’s High Accuracy Service (HAS), supporting the European Commission‘s Directorate-General  for Defence Industry and Space (DEFIS) and the EU agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA).

The work included studies on the processing of the Galileo E6-B signal, carrying the HAS data, within Galileo receivers, technical support to the definition of Galileo Programme reference documents, as well as testing and validation activities of the HAS service. The JRC assessed the ultimate performance of HAS under different conditions.

Experimental activities were performed within the JRC Testing and Demonstration Hub for EU GNSS, the  European Microwave Signature Laboratory (EMSL) as well as the JRC Living Labs, developing specific routines and laboratory setups and exploiting the HAS User Terminal, procured by EUSPA and hosted in the JRC laboratories.

Background

Galileo is a component of the EU Space Programme, which is designed to bolster the EU Space policy in the fields of Earth Observation, Satellite Navigation, Connectivity, Space Research and Innovation. The programme supports investments in critical infrastructure and disruptive technologies.  

Related links

EUSPA Press release

Galileo High Accuracy Service (HAS)

Details

Publication date
24 January 2023
Author
Joint Research Centre
JRC portfolios

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