Galileo fiasco: not a software bug – ZDNet

 
 
  Article updated at 12:30

The satellite positioning system made in Europe still lagging behind with the failure of the in-orbit of two satellites last August.
 The first phase of the launch were apparently conducted without
 mishap, but the two satellites have not reached an orbit consistent with the flight plan.
 

missing the plate, the satellites will be many months
 effective in terms of accuracy. One wonders if they will be
  operational one day. Worse, they are not designed to catch a
 Such trajectory error, the fault too low reserves
 fuel.

This is
  So consternation side Arianespace and Commission
 European: remember that the project (first private and public) was
 launched at the beginning of 2000 and should be operational in 2014 …
 Nearly 4 billion euros have already been spent for a total cost
 estimated at 10 billion euros.

Mount error

Now
  it is time to account. “The studies and analysis of data
 continuing in collaboration with Russian partners program
 Soyuz in French Guiana as well as the ESA and its industrial partners,
 explained Arianespace has launched in association with ESA and
 Commission an independent commission of inquiry.

Objective
  : Define the precise causes of this major “anomaly”. And the initial responses fall. It is therefore not a problem
 software, but a hardware fault. Specifically, the problem is the gel fuel in a poorly designed pipe in the launcher
 Russian Soyuz that powers the engine of the upper stage.

In practice, engineers NPO Lavochkin Nont ignored cooling
 significant in certain circumstances caused by
 helium lines (very low temperature) installed too close to the fuel lines.

“This is not a human error. This is a gap in the design. we know what to do to correct very quickly. This allows
 considering a return to flight Soyuz from French Guiana in the month of
 December, “said AFP Stéphane Israel, CEO of Arianespace.

” It is therefore not an assembly error in NPO Lavochkin workshops, but a problem heat that had not been detected in the design, “he says.

It is not tomorrow that Galileo will be able to compete with the ultra-dominant American GPS. …