The value of the deal was not disclosed.

Under the agreement, Thales said it would join five other stakeholders in Galileo: Alcatel Space, Alenia Spazio, EADS' German and British units Astrium, each holding 19 percent, and GSS which has a 12-percent stake.

Galileo Industries' satellite navigation system was created by the members of the European Space Agency to provide an alternative to the US Global Positioning System.

Thales said Galileo's system will be fully operational by the end of the decade with signal transmissions to start in 2005.

Galileo will be used for a variety of operations such as air or maritime traffic control, computer data transmission and hydrocarbon exploration.

SPACE.WIRE