Telespazio, a Leonardo company, and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) have signed an agreement to support the expansion of the Galileo Control Centre (GCC-I) at the Fucino Space Centre in Abruzzo (Italy). Through this agreement, EUSPA, on behalf of the European Commission, will contribute to the planned expansion of the GCC-I. The aim of the expansion is to increase GCC-I's capabilities so that it can support the delivery of Galileo Services of the second-generation Galileo European satellite navigation and positioning system, which is currently under development.

Two new buildings will be constructed on the site of the existing Galileo Control Centre, a 6,000 sqm facility built in 2010 and expanded in 2021, which has (prior to the extension now being implemented) 30 control rooms and 40 equipment rooms. They will house equipment rooms and control rooms up to the highest levels of security classification.

Telespazio will be responsible for the entire project, from design through to final verification and testing, including the civil engineering work. Ownership of the whole site infrastructure will ultimately pass to the Italian authorities.

The GCC in Fucino operates in parallel with the Control Centre managed by DLR-GfR, a company of the German space agency, at Oberpfaffenhofen (Munich), and together manage the satellite constellation and the navigation signals generation and dissemination of the Galileo Programme. The Italian Center is also responsible for central security facility operations in support to the GSMCs (Galileo Security Monitoring Centers) and carries out the operations of Ground Mission Segment and the monitor and control of the GDDN (Galileo Data Dissemination Network).

Both centres are run by Spaceopal (a joint venture owned equally by Telespazio and DLR/GfR). Spaceopal is the prime contractor for the operational services of Galileo, the satellite navigation program of the European Union, and is the world’s largest navigation satellite service operator. Spaceopal is responsible for operations, integrated logistics, maintenance, management of the global communications network, security operations and LEOP (Launch and Early Orbit Phase) operations after the separation from the launcher.

Leonardo, together with its joint ventures Telespazio and Thales Alenia Space, is a key partner in Galileo. It makes a decisive contribution to both the ground and space segments of the programme and builds the hydrogen atomic clocks for all first- and second-generation satellites.

Galileo is the European Union's satellite navigation system, wholly funded and owned by the EU and the product of a European partnership. It is managed by the European Commission, with EUSPA responsible for managing the exploitation of the service and the European Space Agency (ESA) acting as the system's design authority. Galileo is the EU's largest infrastructure initiative and is intended to strengthen the strategic autonomy and sovereignty of EU citizens and Member States.

The system comprises a space segment, and a ground infrastructure. The latter consists of two Control Centres, one at the Fucino Space Centre, managed by Telespazio, and the other at Oberpfaffenhofen (Munich), managed by DLR GfR (a company of the German space agency DLR). Telespazio and DLR GfR operate the two GCCs under contract from Spaceopal.

In addition, the system includes two Security Monitoring Centres, located in France and Spain, as well as the Galileo Reference Centre in the Netherlands, all of which are directly managed and operated by EUSPA. It also includes, among others, a GNSS Service Centre in Madrid, a global Communications Network managed by Spaceopal, and a series of remote sites around the world.

Italy has played a leading role since the start of the programme, both through ASI (the Italian Space Agency) and through the involvement of national industry, in particular the Leonardo Group.

The European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) provides safe and secure satellite navigation services, promotes the commercialisation of Galileo, EGNOS and Copernicus data and services, and coordinates the GOVSATCOM governmental satellite communications programme Hub and the EU SST (Space Surveillance and Tracking) Front Desk. EUSPA is responsible for the security accreditation of all components of the EU space programme. By fostering an innovative and competitive space sector and engaging with the whole EU space community, it also contributes to the European green, and digital transition and the security of the Union and its citizens, while strengthening the Union's autonomy and resilience.