One would have to admit that it's a pretty good effort from a...

One would have to admit that it's a pretty good effort from a "shitty little country" facing terrorists 24/7.......

Eat your hearts out, HC dorks...Costic, Atom, Anal, GeorgeA and any other nerd whose name I might have missed.

Snooker
**********************************************************

Jul. 13, 2004 19:20 | Updated Jul. 13, 2004 20:14
Israel to participate in European satellite system
By OFER BARSADEH


Photo: EU




Israel and the European Union have signed an agreement enabling Israel to participate in its Galileo program, the European Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). The 3.6 billion Euro Galileo project is expected to start operating in 2008 alongside the United States' GPS system.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Ehud Olmert, in Brussels for meetings with EU heads on disengagement and the problems of exports from Jewish settlements in the territories, signed a bilateral cooperation agreement that – according to the minister – ensures Israel participation in markets worth 100 billion Euros over the next decade.

Israel, one of only eight countries in the world that has developed space capabilities, will be the second non-EU country, after China, to join the Galileo program as a member in the project's governing body.

Olmert told his European hosts that Israel would determine its financial participation in the project by the end of the month.

GALILEO is based on a constellation of 30 satellites and ground stations providing information concerning the positioning of users in many sectors such as transport, social, the justice system and customs services, public works, search and rescue systems and leisure.

The European Council has also signed an agreement with the US on compatibility and interoperability between GPS – the American Global Positioning Satellite system - and GALILEO.