European

Geostationary
Navigation Overlay
Service

The European Geostationary Navigation

Overlay Service (EGNOS) is a satellite-
based augmentation system (SBAS)
developed by the European Space Agency
and EUROCONTROL on behalf of the
European Commission. Currently, it
supplements the GPS by reporting on the
reliability and accuracy of their positioning
data and sending out corrections. The
system will supplement Galileo in a future
version.
 EGNOS

Country/ies of origin European Union

Operator(s) EUSPA, ESA

Type Augmentation

Status Operational

Coverage Europe, North Africa

Other details

Cost €1,1 billion

Website EGNOS (https://egnos

-user-support.essp-sa
s.eu/)
Map of the EGNOS ground network

EGNOS consists of 40 Ranging Integrity

Monitoring Stations, 2 Mission Control
Centres, 6 Navigation Land Earth Stations,
the EGNOS Wide Area Network (EWAN),
and 3 geostationary satellites.[1] Ground
stations determine the accuracy of the
satellite navigation systems data and
transfer it to the geostationary satellites;
users may freely obtain this data from
those satellites using an EGNOS-enabled
receiver, or over the Internet. One main use
of the system is in aviation.

According to specifications, horizontal

position accuracy when using EGNOS-
provided corrections should be better than
seven metres. In practice, the horizontal
position accuracy is at the metre level.

Similar service is provided in North

America by the Wide Area Augmentation
System (WAAS), in Russia by the System
for Differential Corrections and Monitoring
(SDCM), and in Asia, by Japan's Multi-
functional Satellite Augmentation System
(MSAS) and India's GPS-aided GEO
augmented navigation (GAGAN).

Galileo and EGNOS budget for the 2021–

2027 period is €9 billion[2]

History and roadmap

The system started its initial operations in
July 2005, with accuracy better than two
metres and availability above 99%. As of
July 2005, EGNOS has been broadcasting
a continuous signal, and at the end of July
2005, the system was again used to track
cyclists in the Tour de France road race.[3]

In 2009, the European Commission

announced it had signed a contract with
the company European Satellite Services
Provider to run EGNOS. The official start of
operations was announced by the
European Commission on 1 October
2009.[4] The system was certified for use
in safety of life applications in March
2011.[5] An EGNOS Data Access Service
became available in July 2012.

Initial work to extend EGNOS coverage to

the Southern Africa region is being done
under a project called ESESA - EGNOS
Service Extension to South Africa.[6]

The European Commission is defining the

roadmap for the evolution of the EGNOS
mission. This roadmap should cope with
legacy and new missions:[7]

2011–2030: En-route / NPA / APV1 /

LPV200 service based on augmentation
of GPS L1 only. The Safety of Life (SoL)
will be guaranteed up to 2030 in
compliance with ICAO SBAS SARPS.
2020+: It is planned that EGNOS will
experiment with a major evolution,
EGNOS V3, including the fulfilment of
the SBAS L1/L5 standard, expansion to
dual-frequency, and evolution toward a
multi-constellation concept.
Satellites and SISNeT

Service areas of satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS)

Inmarsat 3 satellite
 Satellite Name & Details NMEA / PRN Signals Location Status[8]

Inmarsat 3-F2 (Atlantic NMEA #33 / PRN

L1 15.5°W retired
Ocean Region-East[9]) #120

NMEA #37 / PRN

ARTEMIS [10] - 21.5°E retired
#124

Inmarsat 4-F2 (Europe NMEA #39 / PRN

- 64°E testing
Middle East Africa[11]) #126

Inmarsat 3-F1 (Indian NMEA #44 / PRN

- 64.5°E retired
Ocean[12]) #131

SES-5 (a.k.a. Sirius 5 or NMEA #49 / PRN

L1 & L5 5.0°E active
Astra 4B) [13][14] #136[15]

NMEA #36 / PRN

Astra 5B[13][14] L1 & L5 31.5°E active
#123[15]

launched in October 2019, it

Eutelsat 5 West B 5°W
will use EGNOS 3

Similar to WAAS, EGNOS is mostly

designed for aviation users who enjoy
unperturbed reception of direct signals
from geostationary satellites up to very
high latitudes. The use of EGNOS on the
ground, especially in urban areas, is
limited due to relatively low elevation of
geostationary satellites: about 30° above
horizon in central Europe and much less in
the North of Europe. To address this
problem, ESA released in 2002
SISNeT,[16][17] an Internet service designed
for continuous delivery of EGNOS signals
to ground users. The first experimental
SISNeT receiver was created by the
Finnish Geodetic Institute.[18] The
commercial SISNeT receivers have been
developed by Septentrio. PRN #136 was
placed into the Operational Platform from
23/08/2018 at 10:00 UTC and PRN #120
was placed into Test Platform from
30/08/2018 at 13:00 UTC.[19]
Services
Open Service (OS): It improves
positioning accuracy by correcting error
sources affecting GNSS signals
intended for a wide range of
applications in various domains. The
corrections transmitted by EGNOS help
mitigate the ranging error sources
related to satellite clocks, satellite
position and ionospheric effects.
EGNOS can also detect distortions
affecting the signals transmitted by
GNSS and prevent users from tracking
unhealthy or misleading signals that
could lead to inaccurate positioning. The
service is available free-of-charge in
Europe to any user equipped with an
appropriate GPS/SBAS compatible
receiver for which no specific receiver
certification is required. It has been
available since 1 October 2009.[20]
Safety of Life (SoL) Service: The main
objective of the EGNOS SoL service is to
support civil aviation operations down to
Localizer Performance with Vertical
Guidance (LPV) minima. However, the
EGNOS SoL service might also be used
in a wide range of other application
domains (e.g. maritime, rail, road…) in
the future. This service provides the
most stringent level of signal-in-space
performance to all Safety of Life user
communities. The EGNOS system has
been designed so that the EGNOS
Signal-In-Space (SIS) is compliant with
the ICAO SARPs for SBAS. It has been
available since 2 March 2011.
EGNOS Data Access Service (EDAS):
EDAS is the terrestrial data service and
offers ground-based access to EGNOS
data in real time and also in a historical
FTP archive to authorised users (e.g.
added-value application providers).
EDAS is the single point of access for
the data collected and generated by the
EGNOS ground infrastructure distributed
over Europe and North Africa, it is aimed
 at users who require enhanced
performance for commercial and
professional use. It has been available
since 26 July 2012.[21]

Architecture

EGNOS RIMS "BRN" (Berlin) close to Berlin

EGNOS is divided into four functional

segments:

1. Ground segment: comprises a network

of 40 Ranging Integrity Monitoring
Stations (RIMS), 2 Mission Control Centres
(MCC), 2 Navigation Land Earth Stations
(NLES) per Geostationary Earth Orbit
(GEO), and the EGNOS Wide Area Network
(EWAN), which provides the
communication network for all the
components of the ground segment.

40 RIMS: the main function of the RIMS

is to collect measurements from GPS
satellites and to transmit these raw data
every second to the Central Processing
Facilities (CPF) of each MCC.
2 MCC: these receive the information
from the RIMS and generate correction
messages to improve satellite signal
 accuracy and information messages on
the status of the satellites (integrity). It
acts as the "brain" of the system.
6 NLES: the NLESs (two for each GEO
for redundancy purposes) transmit the
EGNOS message received from the
central processing facility to the GEO
satellites for broadcasting to users and
to ensure the synchronisation with the
GPS signal.

2. Support segment: In addition to the

above-mentioned stations/centres, the
system has other ground support
installations involved in system operations
planning and performance assessment,
namely the Performance Assessment and
Checkout Facility (PACF) and the
Application Specific Qualification Facility
(ASQF) which are operated by the EGNOS
Service Provider (ESSP).

PACF (Performance Assessment and

Check-out Facility): provides support to
EGNOS management in the form of
performance analysis, troubleshooting,
and operational procedures as well
upgrading specifications and validations
and providing maintenance support.
ASQF (Application Specific Qualification
Facility): provides civil aviation and
aeronautical certification authorities
 with the tools to qualify, validate and
certify the different EGNOS applications.

3. Space Segment: composed of at least

three geostationary satellites broadcasting
corrections and integrity information for
GPS satellites in the L1 frequency band
(1575.42 MHz). This space segment
configuration provides a high level of
redundancy over the whole service area in
the event of a failure in the geostationary
satellite link. EGNOS operations are
handled in such a way that, at any point in
time, at least two GEOs broadcast an
operational signal.
4. User Segment: the EGNOS user
segment consists of EGNOS receivers that
enable their users to accurately compute
their positions with integrity. To receive
EGNOS signals, the end user must use an
EGNOS-compatible receiver. Currently,
EGNOS compatible receivers are available
for such market segments as agriculture,
aviation, maritime, rail, mapping/surveying,
road and location based services
(LBS).[22][23]

Aviation
In March 2011, the EGNOS Safety-of-Life
Service was deemed acceptable for use in
aviation. This allows pilots throughout
Europe to use the EGNOS system as a
form of positioning during an approach,
and allows pilots to land the aircraft in IMC
using a GPS approach. [24]

As of September 2018 LPV (Localizer

performance with vertical guidance)
landing procedures, which are EGNOS-
enabled, were available at more than 180
airports across Europe.[25]

References
1. "EGNOS System" (https://www.gsa.europa.
eu/european-gnss/egnos/egnos-system) .
March 2016.
2. "EU space policy" (https://www.consilium.e
uropa.eu/en/policies/eu-space-programm
e/) . www.consilium.europa.eu. Retrieved
2020-12-29.
3. "What is EGNOS?" (http://www.esa.int/Our_
Activities/Navigation/The_present_-_EGNO
S/What_is_EGNOS) . ESA. 2 August 2013.
Retrieved 31 January 2016.
4. "EGNOS 'Open Service' available: a new era
for European navigation begins today" (htt
p://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Navigation/
The_present_-_EGNOS/EGNOS_Open_Servi
ce_available_a_new_era_for_European_navi
gation_begins_today) . ESA. 1 October
2009. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
5. "EGNOS navigation system begins serving
Europe's aircraft" (http://www.esa.int/Our_A
ctivities/Navigation/The_present_-_EGNOS/
EGNOS_navigation_system_begins_serving
_Europe_s_aircraft) . ESA. 2 March 2011.
Retrieved 31 January 2016.
6. "What is ESESA?" (http://www.esesa.org/ab
out/index.php) . ESESA. Retrieved
31 January 2016.
7. "EGNOS Future and Evolutions" (https://gss
c.esa.int/navipedia/index.php/EGNOS_Futu
re_and_Evolutions) . ESA / NAVIPEDIA. 16
October 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
8. "REALTIME | Egnos User Support" (https://e
gnos-user-support.essp-sas.eu/new_egnos
_ops/?q=egnos_system_realtime) . ESSP-
SAS. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
 9. "Inmarsat 3-F2" (https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.go
v/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1996-0
53A) . NSSDCA Master Catalog. NASA.
10. "Artemis" (https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nm
c/spacecraft/display.action?id=2001-029
A) . NSSDCA Master Catalog. NASA.
11. "Inmarsat 4-F2" (https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.go
v/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2005-0
44A) . NSSDCA Master Catalog. NASA.
12. "Inmarsat 3-F1" (https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.go
v/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1996-0
20A) . NSSDCA Master Catalog. NASA.
13. "EGNOS Case Study" (https://web.archive.o
rg/web/20090528060009/http://www.ses-a
stra.com/business/en/solutions/governme
nt/case-studies/EGNOS/index.php) . SES.
Archived from the original (http://www.ses-
astra.com/business/en/solutions/governm
ent/case-studies/egnos/index.php) on
2009-05-28.
14. Beyond Frontiers Broadgate Publications
(September 2016) pp97
15. "The Almanac" (http://gpsworld.com/the-al
manac/) . Retrieved 2015-10-01.
16. "Signal-in-Space through the Internet" (htt
p://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Navigation/
Signal-in-Space_through_the_Internet) .
ESA. 19 September 2002. Retrieved
31 January 2016.
17. "SISNeT - related publications" (http://www.
egnos-pro.esa.int/sisnet/publications.htm
l) . ESA. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
18. "Navigate via the web with the SISNeT
receiver" (http://www.esa.int/Our_Activitie
s/Navigation/Navigate_via_the_web_with_t
he_SISNeT_receiver) . ESA. 6 September
2002. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
19. "Satellite navigation receiver uses EGNOS
signals delivered via Internet" (http://www.e
sa.int/Our_Activities/Navigation/The_prese
nt_-_EGNOS/Satellite_navigation_receiver_u
ses_EGNOS_signals_delivered_via_Interne
t) . ESA. 25 October 2005. Retrieved
31 January 2016.
20. "ABOUT OS | EGNOS User Support" (https://
egnos-user-support.essp-sas.eu/new_egno
s_ops/services/about-os) . egnos-user-
support.essp-sas.eu. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
21. "About EGNOS | EGNOS User Support" (http
s://egnos-user-support.essp-sas.eu/new_e
gnos_ops/egnos-system/about-egnos) .
egnos-user-support.essp-sas.eu. Retrieved
2020-12-29.
22. "EGNOS System" (https://www.gsa.europa.
eu/european-gnss/egnos/egnos-system) .
www.gsa.europa.eu. 2016-03-01. Retrieved
2020-12-29.
23. "About EGNOS | EGNOS User Support" (http
s://egnos-user-support.essp-sas.eu/new_e
gnos_ops/egnos-system/about-egnos) .
egnos-user-support.essp-sas.eu. Retrieved
2020-12-29.
24. "What is EGNOS?" (http://www.esa.int/Our_
Activities/Navigation/The_present_-_EGNO
S/What_is_EGNOS) .
25. "Precision EGNOS satnav sparking quiet
revolution in aircraft landings" (https://ww
w.esa.int/Applications/Navigation/Precisio
n_EGNOS_satnav_sparking_quiet_revolution
_in_aircraft_landings) . European Space
Agency. 4 September 2018. Retrieved
3 May 2020.

External links
European Commission information on
European Commission information on
EGNOS (https://ec.europa.eu/growth/se
ctors/space/egnos_en)
Website of the EGNOS operator ESSP
SaS (https://www.essp-sas.eu/)
EGNOS Operations User Support (http
s://egnos-user-support.essp-sas.eu/new
_egnos_ops/)
ESA information on EGNOS (https://ww
w.esa.int/Applications/Navigation/EGN
OS)
The EGNOS book, ESA Publications,
Javier Ventura-Traveset and Didier
Flament (https://www.egnos-pro.esa.in
t/education/book.html) Archived (http
s://web.archive.org/web/202007190416
46/http://www.egnos-pro.esa.int/educat
ion/book.html) 2020-07-19 at the
Wayback Machine
European Space Agency information on
EGNOS for Professionals (https://www.e
gnos-pro.esa.int/index.html) Archived
(https://web.archive.org/web/20200719
041656/http://www.egnos-pro.esa.int/in
dex.html) 2020-07-19 at the Wayback
Machine
Learning EGNOS (http://www.egnos-pro.
esa.int/education/index.html)
ESESA - EGNOS Service Extension to
South Africa (http://www.esesa.org/)
Usman A Zahidi, "EGNOS enabled GPS
Software Receiver" Report Page, [1] (http
s://web.archive.org/web/201610061252
56/http://usman.zahidi.dk/publications/
EGNOSSoftwareReceiver.pdf)
 Information on WAAS, EGNOS & MSAS
(http://www.environmental-studies.de/P
recision_Farming/EGNOS_WAAS__E/3E.
html) Archived (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20210211000151/http://www.en
vironmental-studies.de/Precision_Farmi
ng/EGNOS_WAAS__E/3E.html) 2021-
02-11 at the Wayback Machine
Navipedia information on EGNOS (http
s://gssc.esa.int/navipedia/index.php/Ca
tegory:EGNOS) —Wiki initiated by the
European Space Agency

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