Cookie Consent by Free Privacy Policy website Two more Galileo satellites poised for launch in may
february 26, 2016 - European Space Agency

Two more Galileo satellites poised for launch in may

Press release available only in original language. 

26 February 2016

Another pair of Galileo navigation satellites is scheduled for launch in May, ahead of a quartet on an Ariane 5 rocket in the autumn, bringing the Galileo system a step closer to operational use.

The European Commission asked ESA to look into the feasibility of a Soyuz launch in the first half of the year to speed up the deployment of the constellation and to increase its robustness for delivering initial services.

One satellite is in storage at ESA’s technical centre in the Netherlands, having completed all its testing to clear it for flight, with another due to join it very soon.

The satellite platforms are built by OHB in Bremen, Germany, with their navigation payloads coming from Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd in the UK, using a steady stream of high-technology equipment sourced from all across Europe.

Once through testing, the satellites are flown to Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, to be launched two at a time on Soyuz rockets.

A total of 12 satellites has been deployed into orbit during the last four years – six in the last year alone.

The Galileo production line has attained a steady rhythm, as has the environmental testing, so six satellites are available for launch this year, more than were initially planned.

In the second half of the year, four satellites will be launched together for the very first time, on a customised “Ariane 5 ES Galileo”. 

In development since 2012, it is based on the Ariane 5 ES (Evolution Storable), previously used to place ESA’s 20-tonne ATV vehicle into low orbit for resupplying the International Space Station.

This new variant will carry a lighter payload – four fuelled 738 kg Galileos plus their supporting dispenser – but will take it up to the much higher altitude around 23 222 km.

The target orbit is actually 300 km below the Galileo constellation’s final working altitude. This leaves Ariane’s upper stage in a stable ‘graveyard orbit’, while the four satellites manoeuvre themselves up to their operating position.

Following this first Ariane 5 flight, there should be 18 #galileosatellites in orbit.

Related news

september 09, 2016
august 31, 2016
june 22, 2016

A transatlantic flight delivered four #galileosatellites to French Guiana on Tuesday, in preparation for a shared launch this Nove...

The first Ariane 5 rocket modified to carry four #galileosatellites into orbit has arrived at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana ...

Following rigorous testing in France and Germany, a new type of dispenser designed to carry four navigation satellites into orbit ...

You might be interested in

may 20, 2016
may 10, 2016
november 09, 2015

A team of European mission control experts will be watching closely next week when two #galileosatellites are boosted into space, ...

10 May 2016Europe’s latest #galileosatellites have been filled with fuel in preparation for their joint launch on a Soyuz rocket f...

9 November 2015Europe’s fifth and sixth #galileosatellites – subject to complex salvage manoeuvres following their launch last yea...