A.S.I. - Agenzia Spaziale Italiana - The road to Space goes through Italy.

Galileo is a joint programme between the European Commission and the European Space Agency, aimed at developing the first satellite navigation and positioning system designed for civilian purposes.

There are at the moment two global satellite navigation networks: the American system GPS (Global Positioning System) and the Russian network GLONASS. They were both designed for military purposes. Although GPS is used for several civilian applications, it has some limitations (low-medium precision depending on location and time, low reliability, service not legally guaranteed). Being a military network, it can interrupt civilian services without notice in the evento of a crisis.

The European Union and the European Space Agency have thus committed themselves to creating a European satellite system, independent from GPS but interoperable with it. According to analysis by the EU, it is estimated that Galileo and its spin-off will create a new market for European companies, generating revenues at about € 80 billions during the first 20 years of the system's lifetime.

The GALILEO signal includes an "integrity message", absent in the GPS system, that lets the user know immediately if there are errors in the received signal, and so guarantees continuity of service. In addition the system also coves areas, like Northern Europe, not served by the other systems.

The first experimental satellite, GIOVE-A, was launched on Dec. 28, 2005. The second satellite, GIOVE-B was launched on April 27, 2008. Once the experimental phase is completed, it will be possible to launch four operative satellites, that constitute the minimum configuration to provide navigation services and to test the space and ground segments. The complete system will be made of 30 satellites (27 operational and 3 spares), on a Medium Earth Orbit at 23,222 km from the Earth. The Italian Space Agency is in charge of devising a national strategy for the Galileo system, and is participating with several projects to the development of the technological infrastructure.