One of the missions of the Royal Observatory of Belgium is to integrate Belgium into international spatio-temporal reference systems. This implies in particular the participation of Belgium in the international time scale UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) as well as a precise realization of UTC, namely UTC (ORB). This achievement is distributed free of charge via the Internet (NTP) and is therefore accessible free of charge to anyone who is anxious to be in Belgian law. It is also up to the office of the day to inform the authorities of the country in terms of defining the second, time scales or when introducing a second leap.
The bureau de l'heure is also carrying out cutting-edge scientific research in the field of comparisons of time scales and comparisons of atomic clocks using GNSS navigation satellite signals (GPS, Galileo, etc.). Another of our fields of research is the study of the disturbances of GNSS signals (ionosphere, multi-path, dark matter ...). Thanks to our advanced services and expertise, we also play an active role in the development and operations of the Galileo system.