How would you describe ESSP and the services you provide?

European Satellite Services Provider (ESSP) is a company founded in 2008 by 7 major European air navigation services providers, of which ENAV is part of them .

ESSP’s main mission is to operate and deliver the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), a satellite system owned by the European Union and managed by the European GNSS Agency (the GSA, soon to become the EUSPA the European Union Space Programme Agency), based in Prague.

EGNOS makes it possible to "augment" the GPS, i.e. to provide it with integrity (reliability) and precision (approximately one meter in all three dimensions); from 2025 onwards, EGNOS will also "augment" the positioning signal of the European Galileo satellites.

EGNOS is based on some forty ground stations, mainly in Europe, 2 mission centres operating 24/7, 6 satellite transmitting stations and 2 sites hosting the ESSP teams in Toulouse and Madrid. ENAV is highly involved in EGNOS operations as it operates a ground station in Catania and one of the mission centres, located at ENAV premises in Ciampino. Fucino also hosts one of the satellite uplink stations.

I take this opportunity to thank our colleagues at ENAV with whom we have had excellent relationship for more than 10 years, and for the quality of service they have provided since then.

The accuracy and integrity offered by EGNOS mean that the positioning signal can be used for safety critical applications, such as for precision landings, with performance similar to an ILS Cat 1. More than 400 airports in Europe now offer EGNOS based approach procedures.

To ensure its missions, ESSP, who is a certified ANSP, has 130 employees of 10 nationalities.

The Covid-19 is having a strong impact on aviation, how ESSP is facing the challenges?

As I mentioned, ESSP’s main mission is to deliver the EGNOS satellite service all over Europe with a very precise service level agreement. EGNOS is a public European service, free of charge for the European citizens, whoever they are and in particular for aviation users.

We know that this is a very difficult time, but we also know that this is a transitional period, and ESSP is preparing for recovery, keeping all satellite navigation services operational, so we continue provide the best aviation-related services when recovery occurs.

The GSA is very committed to keeping on providing the best EGNOS safety-of-life service, service that is turning 10 this year as the first EGNOS LPV procedure was flown in March 2011.

During this crisis, another priority of course has been and continues to be to protect the health of our staff, while maintaining a first class service. This was made possible thanks to the commitment of everyone and the infrastructures that enabled us to switch very quickly to "full teleworking" mode, or almost.

ESSP key activities are covered by a contract with the GSA that has to be renewed this year. What are the key activities you have put in place to ensure success in delivery of the services while also preparing for the future?

It’s all about anticipation. Very early on we have defined the internal team in charge of the response to the call for tenders, we have identified our industry partners and have set-up a strong and very competent consortium. We are therefore confident that the next EGNOS contract will be awarded to us .

At the same time, we have formed a B-team with the capacity to maintain an excellent level of service on a day-to-day basis, and to maintain the satisfaction and expectations of our customers.

What is your view on the future challenges for aviation and what role can we expect for satellite technologies?

We believe that, if aviation needs a green aircraft, it also needs a more efficient ATM.

The CleanSky programme states that 10% of decarbonisation will be achieved by optimising air traffic management in general and trajectories in particular. And 4D trajectories can only be achieved if the aircraft exchange their position, which requires the cockpit to be "connected" .

Therefore we believe satellite technologies will allow aircraft connectivity; our ambition is to become a leader in the provision of satellite-services for the connected aircraft – and drone.

The company is preparing for this, and we are part of the Iris programme led by ESA (European Space Agency) and Inmarsat, with the objective to deliver certified, satellite-based datalink services (CPDLC, ADS-C).

Satellite services for aviation, this is just the start of a story!