Spaceopal, a joint-venture between Telespazio and DLR-GfR, celebrated its first 15 years in business together with representatives of government, institutions and with its industrial partners and suppliers yesterday in Milan, during the "2024 International Astronautical Congress" ("IAC") week.

Founded in 2009, the jv has become one of the world's leading operators of satellite navigation services, with end-to-end responsibility of the Galileo Service Operations.

The company has been an integral part of the Galileo programme since the early days, commencing in preparing and operating the system for in-orbit validation in 2010 with a contract overseen by the European Space Agency. In 2016, Spaceopal was awarded the Galileo Service Operator (GSOp) contract by the EU Space Programme Agency (EUSPA), further expanding its role to manage and oversee all key infrastructures and services for the Galileo satellite navigation system.

Since then, the industry has been delivering reliable and highly accurate Galileo services in collaboration with its shareholders and European industrial partners. Simultaneously, the company has initiated new developments and is engaging in future navigation programs.

The CEO Marco Folino and the COO André Bauerhin, shared their insights on the significance of the Galileo navigation system for Europe and reflected on Spaceopal's journey and achievements in recent years.