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Thales Alenia Space wins contract
for South Korean Augmentation Satellite System (KASS) with KARI
Seoul, October 26, 2016
Thales Alenia Space has signed a
contract with the South Korean space agency KARI (Korea Aerospace
Research Institute) to supply a satellite navigation system called KASS
(Korea Augmentation Satellite System).
KARI, on behalf of the South
Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), will
receive the KASS System relying on EGNOS (European Geostationary
Navigation Overlay System) developed by Thales Alenia Space as prime
contractor for the European Commission, with the European Space Agency
(ESA) as contracting authority. The EGNOS system is operating in
Europe
since 2009 for Safety of Life (SoL) services.
The Korean regional system KASS
will enhance the positioning performance provided by the current
satellite navigation system GPS and with evolution for the future ones
Glonass and Galileo. KASS will add value by ensuring the integrity,
availiability and guaranteed continuity of services, while also
improving positioning accuracy to within a meter.
South Korea
will initially be using KASS to provide aeronautical applications,
including Safety of Life services so that it can be used during
different flight phases, especially landings. It will eventually extend
these services to other applications, including maritime, road and rail.
“Our first export success with
this sophisticated and powerful navigation system is the upshot of
Thales Alenia Space’s involvement with Europe’s
satnav projects since the outset, in 1996,” said Jean Loïc Galle,
President and Chief Executive Officer of Thales Alenia Space. “We are
drawing on 20 years of experience to help the Korean space agency, and
allow government bodies in the country to develop applications that will
improve its people’s comfort and safety for all types of
transportation.”
“This contract will contribute
to reinforce the trust between Korea Aerospace Research Institute and
Thales Alenia Space and to the successful KASS programme. In celebration
of 130th anniversary of diplomatic relationship between
France and the Republic of Korea, the national relationship between the
two countries will be undoubtedly strengthened by co-developing the
Korea Augmentation Satellite System (KASS).” – Dr. Gi Wook Nam, Director
of KASS Programme Office
Thales Alenia Space’s contract with KARI concerns the
supply of the ground l’infrastructure. It will initiallly operate via a
relay provided by an existing geostationary satellite, and it will be
interoperable with other Satellite Based Augmentation Systems (SBAS)
worldwide, which guarantee air traffic safety when planes move between
different zones. KARI and Thales Alenia Space will be applying an
approach based on partnership, which means that an integrated
French-Korean team will be in charge of the project under Thales Alenia
Space’s responsibility.
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