The European Space Agency is preparing to select two companies to build the second-generation Galileo navigation satellite and plans to sign a contract in early 2021. According to the head of navigation at the European Space Agency, Wolfgang, the bidding led by the agency on behalf of the European Commission will become a competition between Germany's rising star OHB and the two traditional European space giants, Thales Alenia Space and Airbus Defense and Space.Vokhoff said that this bidding aims to retain the practice of having two manufacturers provide satellites.

According to the plan of the European Space Agency, the second-generation constellation of Galileo will ultimately consist of 24 working stars and up to 6 backup stars. It is worth noting that in this bidding, OHB, a rising star, has built 22 out of the 26 in orbit satellites in the current Galileo system, while Airbus and Taia Space Italy have built the first 4 satellites to validate the entire constellation scheme.OHB is currently building the final 12 first generation stars of the "third batch" of the European Space Agency, which will be used to maintain the constellation before the deployment of second-generation stars. Among them, the first two of the 12 satellites are expected to be launched by Ariane Space using Russian made Soyuz rockets next year. Previously, OHB had won the first generation satellite construction contract in 2011 by defeating the joint team of Airbus and Taia Space, and has since held the position of satellite main contractor.Bertram said that the weight of the second-generation satellite will be around 2400 kilograms, which is about 3.5 times that of the current satellite. He said that second-generation stars will be more complex and technologically advanced, and both Taia Space and Airbus Defense and Space are involved in the construction of the Galileo ground segment, so they are also familiar with the constellation.Taia Space Company also claims to be competitive. The company will leverage its experience in Galileo, EGNOS, and other business constellation projects in the bidding for the second-generation star construction contract. At present, Taia Space Company has all the resources required to meet the requirements of the second-generation Galileo star.

Vokhoff said that the European Space Agency had originally planned to purchase a batch of upgraded satellites for "transition" to fill the gap between the two generations of satellites, but ultimately decided to directly replace them and evenly launch the 12 first generation satellites that OHB is still building.

Source: Aerospace News

Taia Space Company also claims to be competitive. The company will leverage its experience in Galileo, EGNOS, and other business constellation projects in the bidding for the second-generation star construction contract. At present, Taia Space Company has all the resources required to meet the requirements of the second-generation Galileo star. Vokhoff said that the European Space Agency had originally planned to purchase a batch of upgraded satellites for "transition" to fill the gap between the two generations of satellites, but ultimately decided to directly replace them and evenly launch the 12 first generation satellites that OHB is still building.