Objectives and Activities

European satellite navigation programs GALILEO and EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service) are developed within the framework of a governance established by the European Union, based on a program management provided by the European Commission and implemented by the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency (GSA) with technical support from European Space Agency (ESA).

In this context, the main objective of CNES' action in navigation is to support the work of the French Interdepartmental Working Group Galileo, whose coordinator is the President of CNES.

The REGINA network, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) for the International GNSS Service (IGS) and Navigation, was initially decided:

• To overcome the lack of Galileo stations in 2008, the stations essentially measuring at this time the GPS (Global Positioning System);
• To establish a network of GNSS monitoring stations in order to guarantee independence from operational systems;
• To pool resources with the IGN (French Geographic Institute) which shares the need for such an infrastructure for geodesy.

A densification of the network was decided from 2010, in order to have a sufficient dense network of real-time stations to make PPP (Precise Point Positioning) multifrequency and multiconstellation.

REGINA is therefore:

• A network of GNSS stations with a global coverage getting data from the constellations GPS (USA), GALILEO (Europe), GLONASS (Russia), BEIDOU (China), IRNSS (India), QZSS (Quasi-Zenith Satellite System / Japan) and Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS), including EGNOS.
• A service to monitor and configure the network;
• A mission center for delayed time data acquisition from the stations, data processing, and data dissemination to users;
• A real-time center able to get real-time streams from the stations and relay them to users.

Having such a network and the associated processing capacity is an asset because it allows to have the control of GNSS data on the activities carried by the CNES Navigation experts. As an example, the deployment started in 2018 of E6 GALILEO compatible receivers for the Commercial Service. Today REGINA is a recognized major player in the IGS as a global multi-constellation network. As a result of this contribution to the IGS, REGINA strongly supports the scientific activities related to GNSS and in particular in geodesy. The activity is clearly in UN Resolution A/RES/69/266, recognizing the efforts and results of the Member States / Agencies and inviting them to maintain and strengthen the infrastructure needed to improve the geodetic datum world.

The orientations chosen by CNES and IGN at the origin of the REGINA Project and since its creation allow to have today a global GNSS infrastructure recognized and valued. An example is the support within the framework of the GRC-MS consortium to the activities of GALILEO Reference Center conducted by GSA.

The CNES objectives of REGINA are now:

• Be a technical service supporting the development strategy of GNSS services and technology development;
• Support national action aimed at interacting more closely with program stakeholders by using REGINA to carry out value-added activities;
• Contribute to GNSS performance monitoring;
• Support scientists who use satellite positioning data for geodesic, geodynamic, atmospheric and meteorological studies by giving them access to REGINA network data, whether through participation in the IGS or directly for specific needs.

 The REGINA service is the result of a partnership between CNES and IGN through a specific agreement.