The 2016 GSA Open Days was a chance for the public to get a behind-the-scenes look at the Galileo and EGNOS space programmes.

Four years ago, the European GNSS Agency (GSA) moved its headquarters from Brussels to Prague. To celebrate this anniversary and to highlight the many benefits the GSA brings to both Europe and, in particular, the Czech Republic, the Agency held its second annual Open Days on 2 – 3 December 2016.

This year’s event follows on the heels of the successful Ariane 5 rocket launch, which added four new satellites to the Galileo constellation. The launch increased the number of satellites in orbit to 18 and represents an important milestone as the programme moves towards the declaration of Initial Services later this year.

“Over the past four years, the GSA has been transitioning the Galileo programme from a deployment phase to an exploitation phase,” says GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides. “The upcoming declaration of Galileo Initial Services will confirm the GSA’s role in overseeing the service provision and monitoring the security of the overall system, with our Prague Headquarters serving as the epicentre of this mission.”

This year the GSA welcomed over 2500 visitors who came to learn more about the many ways Europe’s space programmes impact their daily lives. As the theme of this year’s Open Days was Travel from Space to Business, several successful Czech space-based companies were on hand to discuss how their businesses are powered by satellite navigation. The agenda also included an array of lectures and workshops explaining satellite navigation and the GSA (in both Czech and English), along with numerous competitions and interactive exhibits.

Visitors of all ages enjoyed the opportunity to explore a Galileo satellite model in its various configurations, take a space selfie, attempt to land an aircraft using satellite navigation and see the Earth from the vantage point of a satellite. In addition, nearly 500 local students attended Satellite Navigation + Europe = GSA, a special event for schools.

Benefiting the Czech Republic

In addition to giving locals a chance to get an inside look at all that is happening at the GSA, Open Days also serves as an opportunity to highlight how the GSA’s location in Prague benefits the Czech Republic. “We planted the seeds by relocating here, and today we are seeing the results as more space applications and products are coming onto the market that originate from the Czech Republic,” says des Dorides.

According to a GSA study, the Agency’s move has impacted the Czech economy both directly and indirectly. For example, since 2012, the direct benefits to the Czech Economy has reached CZK 800 million. Czech companies also benefit from the GSA’s location in Prague, with an increasing number of companies and consortia of Czech companies and institutions applying for R&D funding via the EU’s Horizon 2020 framework programme for research and innovation.

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