ESA and Eurocontrol sign cooperation agreement on using space technology for civil aviation

Paris, 26 July 2002

A five-year renewable Agreement for Cooperation was signed today in Brussels by the Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA), Antonio Rodotà, and the Director General of Eurocontrol, Victor M. Aguado.

The Agreement establishes a general framework for cooperation and support between the two organisations regarding the use of space technology for civil aviation purposes in areas of common interest such as satellite navigation, telecommunications and the environment.

Under the Agreement, the parties will exchange information regarding programmes and projects, research results and publications, and will coordinate research and development programmes.

Specific arrangements will be implemented, spelling out the technical and operational interfaces between the respective activities and the roles and responsibilities of the parties. Each party will bear the cost of work to be done, without funds being exchanged.

One such arrangement will cover the safety regulation process for GNSS with exchanges of information on the methodologies to be employed, sharing of results obtained from R&D and technical projects and joint participation in on-going projects. Operational validation will also be taken into account by working together on all phases of flight: en-route, standard non-precision approach and airport surface movements.

A Joint Committee of ESA and Eurocontrol representatives will be responsible for the administration of the Agreement and for ensuring its implementation, by examining potential areas for concrete cooperation, evaluating the status of ongoing activities, identifying specific action required and reviewing its general functioning.

For more information, please contact:

ESA Media Relations Service
Tel:+33.(0)1.5369.7155
Fax:+33.(0)1.5369.7690

Eurocontrol
External and Public Relations
Tel:+32.2.729.3602
Fax:+32.2.729.91.98

European Space Agency
http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/index.h tml

http://www.esa.int/