Asseco is developing space technologies for the European Space Agency

Asseco Poland and the European Space Agency (ESA) signed a contract for the development of new IT tools to support the work of the European satellite system. This system underpins the GPS and the GLONASS systems. Implementation of two projects worth nearly PLN 1.8m will last for twelve months.

Asseco Poland will be responsible for implementing two projects for the European Space Agency. As part of the first project, new tools used in the EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service) system will be designed. Their tasks include analyzing the data required for correct calculation of the necessary adjustments to satellite navigation systems used in international aviation and maritime transport. Asseco Poland will also be responsible for the extension of the scope of data used in the system – it is now to include data from the European satellite navigation system called Galileo, launched in the second half of December 2016.

The second project, called SPEED Scenario Manager (S-SM), makes it possible to perform simulations and collect data on the work of satellites – regarding their position or signal strength and its fade-out periods. Asseco Poland will be responsible for the tool cooperating with the EGNOS system, which manages the specific simulation scenarios; and also for improving the overall system performance and ensuring proper operation of tools after the project is completed.

Zdzisław Wiater, Deputy Director of the Public Administration Division at Asseco Poland: Your typical airline passenger isn’t concerned with the systems that ensure he or she gets to their destination safely and on time. The solutions developed by Asseco Poland for ESA are responsible for a smooth trip. We also carry out tasks aimed at improving the efficiency of tools already used by ESA.

The European Space Agency is an intergovernmental agency with responsibilities spanning the implementation of plans of its member states in the area of research and space exploration, as well as learning about the Earth and, more generally, the Solar System. As part of its mission it also provides citizens of Europe and the rest of the world with the benefits from investments in the space sector. Poland officially joined the European Space Agency in November 2012.

Zdzisław Wiater: These projects are simply a continuation of tasks already carried out by Asseco for the European Space Agency. The space sector will, in the near future, become one of the fastest growing in the world. It is therefore very important to work on such projects, in order to gain knowledge and experience required to carry out the more complex tasks that will come later, and thus establish Poland’s presence within the space sector.

This contract is the continuation of a cooperation dating back to 2014. The first set of data analyzers for EGNOS system collection purposes (for GPS and GLONASS), as well as an application generating visualizations of analytical results, were both developed for ESA. Migration of spacecraft simulators to a new platform, based on the RAP (Remote Application Platform) technology, was also executed by Asseco Poland.

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The view expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Space Agancy.