The European Space Agency shared a special video on International GNSS Day to celebrate 30 years of the Galileo global navigation system, featuring a special appearance by Astronomer Galileo Galilei.
“Three decades of challenges and triumphs that have shaped the navigation systems we rely on today: EGNOS and Galileo, and that serve as a legacy to building the satellite navigation systems of tomorrow,” states ESA.
In October 1995, the ESA Council at Ministerial Level approved ARTES Element 9, initiating the studies and development of GNSS-1 (EGNOS) and GNSS-2 (Galileo). However, the first steps leading to this moment started as early as the 1980s, with pioneering research and studies conducted by ESA, national space agencies and European institutes.