Skip to main content

October take off for Galileo satellites

The launch of the first two operational satellites of the EU's global navigation satellite system will take place on 20 October, the European Commission has announced. This is just the first of a series of launches due to take off from Europe's Space Port in Kourou, French Guiana. The launch of the Galileo satellites at an altitude of 23,600km will lead to the provision of initial satellite navigation services in 2014. Successive launches will complete the constellation by 2019.
May 16, 2012 Read time: 1 min
The launch of the first two operational satellites of the EU's global navigation satellite system will take place on 20 October, the 1690 European Commission has announced. This is just the first of a series of launches due to take off from Europe's Space Port in Kourou, French Guiana. The launch of the Galileo satellites at an altitude of 23,600km will lead to the provision of initial satellite navigation services in 2014. Successive launches will complete the constellation by 2019.

The decision to fix the date of the first launch follows a detailed assessment review under the chairmanship of the European Space Agency. It concluded that the space and ground segment components as well as operational preparedness are progressing according to schedule.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • EU launches TRIMIS online analysis tool for clean Europe transport sector
    September 21, 2017
    The European Commission has launched an online tool to analyse EU and Member State projects’ clean, connected and competitive contributions to Europe’s transport sector. The Transport Research and Innovation Monitoring and Information System (TRIMIS) is developed and implemented by the EU Joint Research Centre on behalf of the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport. It replaces the Transport Research & Innovation Portal (TRIP) and incorporates the latter’s database of over 10,000
  • Asecap debates the future of tolling
    August 23, 2016
    Colin Sowman reports form Asecap’s Study & Information Days event in Madrid. At Asecap’s (the Association of European Toll Road Operators) recent Study and Information Days event there was no doubt about the subject at the top of the agenda: the European Union Directive 23/2014/EU. This will introduce fundamental changes to the concession model under which Asecap members operate more than 50,000km of tolled highways and, in response, it has compiled a report entitled Proposal for a Sustainable Concession Mo
  • How can your business plan for the worst?
    May 12, 2022
    Covid and extreme weather events have recently shown that disruption to our lives and daily routines can come suddenly, and on a staggering scale. Roger Leyland of ISN Solutions outlines what can be done to ensure continuity for agencies and businesses
  • Volocopter pilots air taxi at Helsinki
    September 5, 2019
    Volocopter has trialled an air taxi at the Helsinki International Airport in Finland, integrating into the air traffic management (ATM) and unmanned aircraft traffic management (UTM) system. Within the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) Programme, this demonstration is the final part of the Gulf of Finland (GOF) U-Space project showing how ATM and UTM systems enable urban air mobility (UAM). Maria Tamm, project coordinator from Estonian Air Navigation Services, says rules for using very low-level ai