On behalf of the European Commission, CNES, the French space agency, ensures the operational SAR/Galileo services for Search and Rescue and Alert to Population since 2016.
The Emergency Warning Satellite Service (EWSS) is an innovative Galileo service expected to be operational in mid-2026, which allows to alert the population of Europe through satellites bypassing failed terrestrial communication means. CNES is the future operator of the Galileo EWSS service center. Specifically, CNES is the hosting entity and operator of the following systems used for EWSS:
- The Return Link Service Provider required to send the Emergency Warning Message to Galileo satellites,
- The Emergency Alerting System (ERAS) which will be the operational interface between alerting authorities and the Return Link Service Provider,
- The Return Link Test-Bed, a prototype of ERAS, used for EWSS demonstrations.
Thanks to its key stakeholder role, CNES is actively involved in the EU-funded EUSPA project AWARE.
These tests and demonstrations will be based on the alert generation from the return link test-bed platform simulating a European authority alert. This alert will be transmitted to Galileo satellites thanks to the return link service provider operated by CNES.
CNES provides technical expertise in the AWARE module design based on its knowledge of Emergency Warning Message (EWM) transmitted by Galileo satellites to the AWARE module. CNES also supports the project in the AWARE Service Center design regarding EWSS monitoring and interfaces specifications.
Given its expertise, CNES is an essential actor in the frame of end-to-end tests validating the AWARE module and later on planned demonstrations on various use cases (natural disaster, urban emergency and industrial catastrophe). These activities will require support from the SAR/Galileo return link service operators to configure and run tests procedures, but also ensure the nominal status of return link service.
CNES actively participates to other Galileo services projects, and continuously provides feedback on EWSS concepts to the AWARE project.
As part of its communication activities, CNES presented the AWARE project objectives and its mission as Galileo EWSS service center at the Ground System Architectures Workshop (GSAW) 2024 conference in Los Angeles in February 2024. It was a major opportunity to inform GNSS stakeholders from all over the world about the Galileo alerting service and to promote the AWARE concept. CNES will also communicate dynamically during demonstrations in real conditions.