Galileo (GNSS)

Galileo is the European Union civil Global Navigation Satellite System, run by the EU Agency for the Space Programme with a nominal 24 satellites plus spares in three planes at 56 degrees inclination. Unlike GPS and GLONASS, which began as military systems, Galileo is under civilian control. The Open Service is free and broadcasts on E1 around 1575.42 MHz, sharing the band with GPS L1 for interoperability, and on E5. Galileo uses the GTRF reference frame, close to WGS-84. Its high-accuracy and authentication services aid integrity. A multi-constellation receiver pooling GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo cuts dilution of precision and improves availability for harbor approaches.