Thales Alenia Space has signed a contract with the South Korean space agency KARI (Korea Aerospace Research Institute) to supply the ground infrastructure for the Korea Augmentation Satellite System (KASS).

KASS will be based on the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System (EGNOS) developed by Thales Alenia Space as prime contractor for the European Commission, with the European Space Agency (ESA) as contracting authority. The EGNOS system has been operating in Europe since 2009 for Safety of Life (SoL) services.

KASS will enhance the positioning performance provided by the current GPS satellite navigation system while offering the possibility to evolve for future systems (Glonass and Galileo). KASS will add value by ensuring the integrity, availiability and guaranteed continuity of services, while also improving positioning accuracy to within one meter.

South Korea will initially be using KASS to provide aeronautical applications, including Safety of Life services so that it can be used during different flight phases, especially landings. It will eventually extend these services to other applications, including maritime, road and rail.

The ground infrastructure supplied by Thales Alenia Space will initiallly operate via a relay provided by an existing geostationary satellite. It will be interoperable with other Satellite Based Augmentation Systems (SBAS) worldwide, which guarantee air traffic safety when aircraft move between different zones. KARI and Thales Alenia Space will be applying a partnership approach, which means that an integrated French-Korean team will be in charge of the project under Thales Alenia Space’s responsibility.