ESA is targeting a maximum of three years from signing contracts to the first LEO-PNT satellites in orbit, matching the timescale achieved by GIOVE-A in the early 2000s.
SSTL took over operations of GIOVE-A from ESA in 2012.
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) de-commissioned GIOVE-A on 24 November 2021 after 16 years of operations in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO).
GIOVE-A was launched on 28 December 2005 with a mission to secure vital frequency filings, generate the first Galileo navigation signals in space, characterize a prototype rubidium atomic clock, and model the radiation environment of MEO for future Galileo spacecraft.
A new model of outer Van Allen belt electron fluxes called MOBE-DIC was produced using data from GIOVE-A to help improve future satellite designs.
Analysis of GIOVE-A Merlin data at Surrey Space Centre showed an "electron desert" in 2008/2009 during the lowest solar minimum of the space era and one of the largest electron storm events on record in April 2010.
SSTL designed, built, and tested GIOVE-A in 30 months for the European Space Agency (ESA).
GIOVE-A completed its original mission for ESA in 2008.
The experimental SSTL GPS receiver SGR-GEO onboard GIOVE-A achieved a GPS position fix at 23,300 km altitude in 2012, the first position fix above the GPS constellation on a civilian satellite.