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September - November 2007 Parliamentary Records: Galileo
Key to House of Commons Column Numbering
W Written Answers, House of Commons WS Written Ministerial Statements, House of Commons Column number with no letters Oral Proceedings in the House of CommonsGalileo
Galileo, Written Answers, 21 Nov 2007, Column 847W
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what evaluation criteria have to be satisfied before the Galileo system may be judged successful; and what criteria have to be satisfied before the programme is expanded.
Ms Rosie Winterton: The main characteristics of Galileo were agreed by European Transport Ministers at their meeting on 9-10 December 2004. Full operational capability of the system will be achieved when the planned constellation of 30 satellites is in operation and the technical performance and stability of the system has met the mission and performance requirements.
Any decisions on the potential expansion of Galileo can only be taken once the system is operational and we expect these decisions to be taken on the basis of detailed technical, commercial, financial and programmatic studies.
Galileo, Written Answers, 20 Nov 2007, Column 669W
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the estimated through-life cost of the Galileo satellite system; what other criteria were taken into account in the Government's assessment of the merits of UK involvement; and if she will make a statement.
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 19 November 2007]: The Commission's latest estimates for the costs of Galileo, based on a public procurement, are 3.4 billion (£2.3 billion) over the period to 2013 for deployment and initial operation of the system, with subsequent operation, maintenance and replenishment costs of around 6 billion (£4.16 billion) over the following 17 years to 2030. Approximately 1.6 billion (£1.1 billion) is committed spend on the design and development of the system. The Commission estimates these costs might be offset by a revenue stream from chargeable Galileo services. The Commission estimate these revenues as being in the range of 4.6 billion to 11.7 billion (£3.1 billion to £8.1 billion) to 2030.
In considering the benefits from the deployment of a Community Global Navigational Satellite System the Government believe it is necessary to look at the potential economic benefits to the Community as a whole, as well as the potential opportunities for the UK space industry and for the downstream application providers in the UK, who might benefit from the greater availability and wider services that Galileo should offer.
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