The spotlight this year falls on the EADS stand involving meetings with Russell Morrison and Bill MacPherson on Galileo and Skynet 5 series satellite technology. Funded by a loan type arrangement of approximately £1bn under the PFI program, EADS Astrium have delivered three operational Skynet satellites to meet the data transfer requirements of the MoD. High bit rate transfer enables voice communications in real time useful for amongst other things the messages home from armed forces personnel overseas. The Skynet Satellites remain the property of Astrium with a minimum term contract from the MoD lasting up until at least 2020. Whilst the basic costs of the program are met by the service provision to the MoD, Astrium’s profit will be derived by the resale of excess bandwidth either to the MoD or foreign Department’s of Defence by agreement with all parties concerned. One huge ‘Pay per View’ Satellite deal. Not being glib about this achievement the success of delivering three operational satellites under the Skynet program exceeds the minimum capacity of the original specification from the MoD. The latest Satellite payload delivered successfully, Skynet 5c is a spare, doubling as a built-in insurance policy to the program. This is a popular practise in satellite technology given the premium on insuring such complex technological long term space-based projects. Three working satellites however, does not just provide a spare in space but also affords greater bandwidth availability to the MoD and for the purposes of resale by Skynet’s owners.

Galileo consists of a family of Satellites broadcasting GPS Data in a system complementing that of the United States. Providing information across both systems will increase the performance of receivers set to receive both. Improvements on the existing US format include a dual frequency signal which helps to compensate for atmospheric anomalies in the ionosphere and elsewhere by checking the two signals comparatively to detect any such anomalous readings. A subscription service will be available to militaries wishing to access the more accurate encypted GPS System which is offered by EADS Astrium. Clearly it is not just people on their way home who need GPS but missiles homing in also, requiring a greater degree of accuracy. No comment was given on the Stand at EADS concerning encryption formats in Galileo nor the nature of the services contracted by the UK MoD in Skynet.

Other EADS related activites elsewhere at the show were the extraordinary Airbus 350 simulator on show by Captain Joseph Gilroy of Toledo. Green screen heads-up technology complements the overall simulator experience. My first time using this technology proved memorable as the ability to focus through the flight guidance data and images to the simulator screens is truly a marvel. The brightness of the heads-up data is quite extraordinary given its transparency when focussing the eye further to the distance at which point the heads-up image is far less penetrating on the eye.