Europe launches new Galileo satellites

Europe has launched the next two satellites in the Galileo network - its version of the American Global Positioning System (GPS), the BBC reports.

The spacecraft - model numbers five and six - went up on a Soyuz rocket from French Guiana.

Galileo is now finally moving towards full deployment after years of delay.

The European Space Agency, which is building the system on behalf of the EU, expects to have a 26-satellite constellation in orbit by 2017.

To that end, it has just ordered three big Ariane-5 rockets at a cost of half a billion euros.

Europe's premier launch vehicle can loft four spacecraft at a time, and this should allow for six to eight satellites to be put in space every 12 months from now on.

"Every spacecraft is, after in-orbit commissioning, put into operation, and is broadcasting a navigation signal that is a valid signal for users with a combined Galileo/GPS receiver; and there are already receivers on the market that have this capability.

So, you have to see the service as being increased one by one," explained Esa Galileo project manager, Javier Benedicto.
Friday's Soyuz lift-off occurred on schedule at precisely at 09:27:11 local time (13:27 BST; 14:27 CEST).

The "instant launch window" was required to get the satellites into just the right part of the sky demanded by the network's multi-plane configuration.

The latest platforms, dubbed "Doresa" and "Milena" in a public competition, are somewhat different to their four predecessors, which were used to validate the Galileo technology in orbit.

Formally described as the first Full Operational Capability (FOC) satellites, they have been produced by a new manufacturing consortium, comprising the German outfit OHB System and the UK firm SSTL.

This pair have been contracted to supply the next 20 spacecraft as well.

SSTL's role is to integrate all the Galileo system components inside a satellite.

"It's been a high-volume operation," said SSTL director John Paffett, "and we're now turning out a payload every six weeks. By the middle of next year, all our payloads will have shipped to OHB, and it won't be long after that that all the finished satellites will have been handed over to Esa."

Esa still has to procure at least four more satellites to complete a constellation configuration that includes a number of in-orbit spares.

Didier Faivre, Esa's Galileo program director, said the agency wanted to assess the first satellites in space before issuing another work order.

"We will have to decide whether we buy exactly the same [spacecraft], which is a consequence if everything works well, or if we have to tune things in terms of technology and performance," he told BBC News.