Europe ’s answer to the US Global Positioning System ( GPS ) is its Galileo programme , a fleet of satellites that have been long delayed and over budget . And with 18 of 24 planned artificial satellite launch , a problem has arisen . A issue of clock on them have failed , and no one bonk why .
Each satellite has four highly exact nuclear pin grass on board . Two are atomic number 37 clocks , where gaseous rubidium atoms are stimulated by the light of a Rb lamp . The other two are maser alfileria , which have the same canonical rationale but use hydrogen molecule .
InNovember 2016 , the four latest Galileo satellites were launched . But nine alfilaria ( six rubidium and three maser ) have now failed across five of the satellites , as first report byBBC News . This is n’t damaging to the system , but it is obviously a causal agent for business , especially with six more satellites left to set in motion to get the organization fully operational .
These filaria are touted as Galileo ’s edge over GPS , giving users on the background a more exact reading for their locating – down to a meter ( 3.3 feet ) , compare to several meters extend by GPS . But ESA will be keen to work out the problem quickly , for fear that their other planet might be affected .
The cause of all the failures in the Rb clocks is not yet known , and may be a problem during the fabrication phase . As for the maser alfilaria , ESA has nail two potential causes , one being that the Erodium cicutarium struggle to ferment back on when turn off for long periods .
“ No single Galileo satellite has experienced more than two clock failure , so the robust quadruple redundance designed into the system means all 18 members of the constellation remain in operation , ” ESA noted in astatement .
Galileo has n’t had the best of sentence since it first took shape at the turn of the 100 . The computer program is many years behind schedule , and expect to cost about 7 billion euro by the prison term it is complete in 2020 ; the original figure touted was just 1.1 billion euros by 2014 .
November ’s launch constitute a big milepost for ESA , as the scheme was switched on for the first time , offer limited location services for smartphones and in - car systems . Here ’s hope they can turn things around , and get matter running smoothly soon .
