Test receiver

Test receiver on the helicopter during GATE testing on 24–26 September 2012. The results will help to guide the development of next-generation satnav systems.

The helicopter flew a variety of manoeuvres, from fast loops to mid-air hovering, to see how satnav signals were received in practice.

The test relied on ESA’s SPEED platform – Support Platform for EGNOS Evolutions & Demonstrations, co-funded by French space agency CNES and operated by Thales Alenia Space France – which enabled the receiver to receive simultaneous realtime augmentation for both GPS and Galileo.