Galileo Security Monitoring Centre chooses SPIE

A key new contract in the European security and defence sector

Paris, November 14, 2019 – SPIE Industrie & Tertiaire and SPIE Facilities, French subsidiaries of SPIE, the independent European leader in multi-technical services in the areas of energy and communications, have won together the contract for the design, completion and maintenance of the Galileo Security Monitoring Centre (GSMC). This new contract was awarded by the French Institution for the Defence Infrastructure Service (ESID).

Located in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the GSMC is a technical facility that is vital for the security of the European navigation satellite system, Galileo^[1], which is managed by the European GNSS^[2] Agency (GSA^[3]). In order to continue to comprehensively fulfil its duties^[4], a new 6,000 m² building is being created for the centre in September 2021 which will be able to accommodate 80 people.

On the basis of this contract, the SPIE teams have been entrusted with delivering several services. The Tertiaire division teams of SPIE Industrie & Tertiaire will be installing air-conditioning, ventilation, plumbing and heating systems in this new building. They will also be responsible for the installation of high and low voltage systems, the technical management of the building, fire extinguishing systems and cybersecurity.

The role of the SPIE Facilities team, which is known for its expertise in data centre maintenance, will be to carry out the site’s maintenance activities for 5 years.

Highest standards required

Certified by the ANSSI^[5] and equipped with a shielded TEMPEST^[6] room, the new Galileo Centre will also have several access control and secure zones. “One of the main challenges of this type of building is, of course, security for which we utilise all of the most recent systems: reinforced access control, video surveillance systems, fire protection water mist systems, and so on,” says Romain Gourcilleau, project manager within the Tertiaire division. “The second major challenge is ensuring the availability of the systems. If there is a breakdown, the level of availability must be 99.995%.” A challenge taken up by the SPIE teams with regard to the building’s systems (including the cooling cabinets, power supplies, electrical circuits, etc.) for which a 3/2 N redundancy scheme is expected, allowing a classification of “Tier IV^[7]” to be achieved. When everything is functioning normally, two of the three system lines are working simultaneously, and the third starts up if there is a breakdown.

Seventeen employees from the Tertiaire division will work on this project for two years (which includes 8 months of design work, 13 months for installation and 3 months of testing), aiming to complete the building by September 2021. “Being awarded this contract is further proof of the strength of our expertise and our standing,” continues Romain Gourcilleau. “Among the factors which led to the group being chosen, cybersecurity had a major influence. The experience that our Protection Systems and Networks department possesses was a deciding factor.”

^{[1] Available since 2016, Galileo has more than a billion users}

^{[2] Global Navigation Satellite System}

^{[3] European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency}

^{[4] Monitoring and taking action in terms of threats, security alerts, and the working condition of the system’s components.}

^{[5] French National Cybersecurity Agency.}

^{[6] TEMPEST is a standard for protection against compromising emissions and signals.}

^{[7] According to the Uptime Institute classification.}