DLR Awards GATE Signal Upgrade Contract to IFEN

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The space agency of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) has awarded IFEN GmbH a contract to upgrade the signal at the Galileo Test and Development Environment (GATE) in Berchtesgaden, Germany.

IFEN, based in Poing, Germany, will perform work by the end of 2009 that will bring the GATE signal into conformance with the latest versions of the Galileo signal-in-space (SIS) interface control document (ICD) and the Galileo Open Service (OS) ICD. The European Space Agency (ESA) is responsible for implementing the Galileo SIS ICD and the GNSS Supervisory Authority (GSA), the OS ICD.

GATE transmits Galileo signals from six ground-based transmitters erected on hills and mountains around the facility, emulating the operation of Galileo satellites and enabling receiver designers and application developers to have real-world experience with Galileo signals years before Europe’s GNSS becomes operational.

Commercial operation of GATE began in August 2008 following DLR’s acceptance of the facility as meeting its full operational capability (FOC). Following completion of the signal upgrade, the GATE test infrastructure will be able to transmit the new composite binary offset carrier (CBOC) signal structure on the Galileo E1 frequency and a broader bandwidth of 92.07 MHz on the E5 frequency.

The system upgrade is also intended to certify the GATE testbed as an officially accredited open-air test infrastructure that can be used to perform the necessary tests for certification of Galileo safety-of-life (SoL) equipment.