Galileo, the EU's satellite navigation system, has been non-operational since July 11 due to a technical incident related to its ground infrastructure. The incident has led to a temporary interruption of the Galileo initial navigation and timing services, with the exception of the Galileo Search and Rescue (SAR) service. The SAR service - used for locating and helping people in distress situations for example at sea or mountains - is unaffected and remains operational.
According to the agency's system status page, 24 of the 26 Galileo satellites shows the status as "not usable," while the other two shows "testing," which also means they're not ready for real-world usage.
Galileo has been providing ‘initial services’ since December 2016. During this initial "pilot" phase preceding the ‘full operational services’ phase, Galileo signals are being used in combination with other satellite navigation systems, which allows for the detection of technical issues before the system becomes fully operational.
Experts are working to restore the situation as soon as possible. An Anomaly Review Board has been set up to analyze the exact root cause and to implement recovery actions. For more updates on service recovery, click here.
Click here to learn more about Galileo.
