Sep 15, 2010 10:42 GMT  ·  By
Students at the 2010 ESA International Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) Summer School
   Students at the 2010 ESA International Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) Summer School

In early September, the European Space Agency (ESA) organized its fourth International GNSS Summer School, which this year was held in Slettestran, Denmark.

The meeting, young scientists and engineers learned the basics of how to operate satellite navigation systems from experts in this field.

These Summer Schools are of tremendous importance for ESA, which is currently working on getting its Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) off the ground and on orbit.

The Galileo system will be Europe's response to the American-built Global Positioning System (GPS). Countries such as Russia and China are also building their own satellite navigation systems.

Current plans at ESA call for the first Galileo satellites to be launched within a couple of years, with demonstrators even faster than that.

But, at this point, the organization lacks the infrastructure necessary for this project, as well as the experts to handle it accordingly.

The main purpose of the Summer Schools is to train these experts, so that when Galileo comes online ESA has all the manpower it needs to make the best of its capabilities.

This year's meeting took place between September 1-10, and a total of 48 engineers and scientists from 22 countries attended.

The participants spanned numerous fields of research, and were selected from all levels of education – graduate students, doctoral candidates, early-stage researchers and young professionals.

From the reactions recorded after the conference, it would appear that participants were enthusiastic about the training they received.

Here are some of their comments: “A wonderful opportunity for learning and networking” )Diana Fontanella, Italy), “One of the most interesting experiences of my life,” (Moshe Tocker, Israel), “Nice experience, I learned a lot together with a group of lovely people. A recommendation for everybody,” (Kim Vijle, Belgium).

“The school was supported this year by a total of 20 lecturers from 13 countries, including renowned scientists, professors and professionals in the field,” ESA says in a statement.

“Rene Oosterlinck, ESA Director of Galileo and Navigation-related Activities, formally opened the school,” they go on to say.

“The program included a competition in which students proposed innovative GNSS applications, including a description of the proposed product/service, the technical approach for its implementation, a market analysis and a marketing summary,” the document reads.