GALILEO: A STRATEGIC GAMBLE FOR EUROPE.

• Position: Brief Article

The Galileo satellite navigation project took a decisive turn on December 28 with the successful launch into orbit of the first satellite designed to test the future system's technologies. The project, which is set to absorb investments totalling euro 3.8 billion by 2010, represents a major strategic challenge for Europe which hopes to break the American military's current stranglehold on global positioning and satellite navigation.

The European Space Agency (ESA), which is co-piloting the launch phase alongside the European Union, is forecasting 1.8 billion worldwide users of such services by 2010 and 3.6 billion by 2020, by which time the global market should be worth more than euro 250 billion. The anticipated benefits should be at least four to six times greater than investment in the system, making Galileo the most profitable infrastructure project ever undertaken by Europe, according to the ESA.

All the applications that Galileo will offer are already available through the American GPS system. However, Galileo's backers are confident that needs are set to soar given the need to...