Galileo’s clocks are a bit broken

Stefan Mileschin · 23rd January 2017, 11:59

Onboard atomic clocks that drive the satellite navigation signals on Europe’s Galileo network have been failing at an alarming rate.

Half of 18 satellites now in orbit have seen their clocks stop working.

Three are traditional rubidium devices; six are the more precise hydrogen maser instruments that were designed to give Galileo superior performance to the GPS network.

A decision must now be made about whether to suspend the launch of further spacecraft while the problem is investigated.

Prof Jan Woerner, the director general of the European Space Agency (ESA), told a meeting with reporters: “Everybody is raising this question: should we postpone the next launch until we find the root cause, or should we launch?

http://www.techeye.net/news/galileos...e-a-bit-broken

23rd January 2017, 11:59	#1
Stefan Mileschin [M] Reviewer Join Date: May 2010 Location: Romania Posts: 153,541	Galileo’s clocks are a bit broken Onboard atomic clocks that drive the satellite navigation signals on Europe’s Galileo network have been failing at an alarming rate. Half of 18 satellites now in orbit have seen their clocks stop working. Three are traditional rubidium devices; six are the more precise hydrogen maser instruments that were designed to give Galileo superior performance to the GPS network. A decision must now be made about whether to suspend the launch of further spacecraft while the problem is investigated. Prof Jan Woerner, the director general of the European Space Agency (ESA), told a meeting with reporters: “Everybody is raising this question: should we postpone the next launch until we find the root cause, or should we launch? http://www.techeye.net/news/galileos...e-a-bit-broken

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Galileo’s clocks are a bit broken	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	20th January 2017 15:20
Galileo takes off	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	22nd December 2016 06:47
MIT's 'Galileo' matches humans at predicting how things move	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	6th January 2016 13:02
Microsoft pulls Windows 10 support from Galileo	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	20th November 2015 20:11
These surrealist games melt more than clocks	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	1st May 2015 15:11
Intel to Ship Open-Source Galileo 2.0 Computer Soon	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	19th May 2014 08:40
Akasa Unveils Galileo Thin Mini-ITX Fanless Chassis	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	5th June 2013 07:37
GeForce GTX 580 at GTX 480 Clocks	jmke	WebNews	0	10th December 2010 15:15
Clocks, Cache of Cores?	PowerToTheUsers	Hardware Overclocking and Case Modding	20	8th July 2008 20:18
G70 has 'many' clocks - Nvidia	jmke	WebNews	2	8th July 2005 17:39