Navigators from Szczecin are working for the European Space Agency

Spokeswoman for the university Bogna Bartkiewicz told PAP that the scientists from the Faculty of Navigation of the Maritime University won a European competition for the performance of research and development for the Agency. "They will investigate the possibility of using EGNOS navigation system, so far used primarily in the aviation, in maritime area" - she said.

EGNOS is a European satellite system augmenting satellite navigation systems, including GPS. It provides corrections to the GPS position, reducing the positioning error from about 10 m to 1 m. EGNOS can also report the maximum expected positioning error, thus increasing the accuracy and reliability of the data.

After the research is completed, the system will be particularly important in port operations, such as entering the port, berth to berth, increasing the safety of ships - emphasized the project leader, director of the Marine Traffic Engineering Institute, Maritime University in Szczecin, Dr. Lucjan Gucma.

The work of Szczecin navigators will include the experimental part, carried out on the training vessel "Nawigator XXI", on which the Maritime University partner - German Aerospace Center will conduct a session of measurements for determining the position of the ship.

Other tests will be carried out at the university, where on the simulator bridge researchers will simulate the parameters of EGNOS measurements carried out on the "Nawigator XXI".

Maritime University in Szczecin is the leader of the consortium it has formed together with the German Space Agency.

The project started in early November. It will continue for 16 months. The project budget is 250 thousand euros.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is one of the major space agencies; its aim is to explore and exploit space. ESA conducts numerous space probe missions and launches satellites. It employs approx. 2 thousand people from all member countries (including scientists, engineers, computer specialists). Its budget is estimated at approx. 4 billion euros a year. Poland is a member of ESA since September 2012.

Maritime University in Szczecin is a state technical university governed by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Development. It educates officers, navigators and marine engineers for the needs of the transport and fishing fleet, employees of port services, shipowners and inland naval and maritime administration, managers in the field of international transport, shipment and logistics, and maritime traffic engineering professionals.

It has three faculties: Faculty of Navigation, Faculty of Marine Engineering, Faculty of Economics and Transport Engineering. The university educates approx. 4 thousand students.

PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland

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