First Soyuz launch from ESA spaceport

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Schadenfroh

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Mar 8, 2003
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Seems kind of redundant for the US / Canada and Europe to have separate GPS like systems. Almost all of the European countries participating in Galileo are members of NATO, I do not see why there could not be more cooperation.

Also, it looks like China dropped out of the Galileo project after a few years to pursue their own thing? How "similar" are the designs of their system to the European system after the cooperation ended?
 

MovingTarget

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Jun 22, 2003
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Pretty cool. I always liked the Soyuz boosters from a technical standpoint, but I'm honestly surprised that the former Soviet states would allow them to be launched outside their territory despite the advantages of launching close to the equator.

I wonder what other medium lift rockets that the ESA spaceport will launch once the commercial industry ramps up...
 

freegeeks

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May 7, 2001
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Seems kind of redundant for the US / Canada and Europe to have separate GPS like systems. Almost all of the European countries participating in Galileo are members of NATO, I do not see why there could not be more cooperation.

Also, it looks like China dropped out of the Galileo project after a few years to pursue their own thing? How "similar" are the designs of their system to the European system after the cooperation ended?

every economic superpower wants its own system, GPS is still a US military project and they can shut down commercial free use off anytime they want. Galileo ismore precise and also offers a worldwide SAR function. There will be a free signal for everyone to use, just like GPS
 
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freegeeks

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May 7, 2001
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Pretty cool. I always liked the Soyuz boosters from a technical standpoint, but I'm honestly surprised that the former Soviet states would allow them to be launched outside their territory despite the advantages of launching close to the equator.

I wonder what other medium lift rockets that the ESA spaceport will launch once the commercial industry ramps up...

simple answer, money. This is an ESA rocket, it just happened to be made in Russia
 

senseamp

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Feb 5, 2006
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Something about 1950's designed stuff that makes it stand the test of time. B52, Soyuz, etc.
 

gevorg

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Nov 3, 2004
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Not sure about Galileo, but the GLONASS system is suppose to be more accurate than GPS at norther latitudes, so countries like Norway, Sweden, Finland, etc will benefit. In addition with more navigation satellites in the sky, hybrid receivers that support GPS, GLONASS and Galileo would be able to take advantage of all currently available satellites in the sky, which would increase the signal strength/accuracy.

One area of GPS that I'm hoping would be improved is the lane assist feature on GPS devices. Its not always accurate and doesn't work on all roads, so there is definitely room for practical improvement in the civilian bands of navigation satellites.
 
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