Arianespace will launch first operational Galileo satellites on Soyuz The European Space Agency (ESA) will begin building its operational constellation of Galileo navigation satellites beginning in 2010 with the use of two Arianespace Soyuz launch vehicles, each of which are to orbit a pair of spacecraft in missions performed from French Guiana. Arianespace Chairman and CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall and Rene Oosterlinck, director of the Galileo Program and Navigation related activities at ESA, inked the launch services contract during an opening-day signature ceremony at the 2009 Paris Air Show. The Galileo system will be Europe's own space-based global navigation satellite network, providing a highly accurate, guaranteed global positioning service under civilian control.
GIOVE-A, the first test satellite for Europes Galileo navigation system, is to remain in service for a further 12 months. The satellite, built by SSTL for ESA and already in orbit for 41 months 14 months beyond its original mission design life - will continue to provide critical data to all of the ground users experimenting with Galileo navigation signals. The European Space Agency (ESA) recently approved an extension of the GIOVE-A mission for a further twelve months, which provides for operations to be supported to the end of March 2010.
Europe's satellite-navigation system has taken a big step forward with the signing of new industrial contracts. Satellite firms EADS Astrium and OHB have been asked to provide spacecraft components that will be needed for the forthcoming constellation. And rocket company Arianespace has signed the deal which will loft the system's first operational platforms. The agreements, announced at the Paris air show, are a much needed fillip for the delayed programme.
A new communications satellite funded by the EU is causing a stir in the privacy lobby. Called Galileo, the satellite could be the key for the government to install black boxes in every new car which could have its position pinpointed. The original worries were that the satellite would enable every car to be tracked for road charging - which is still lurking in the pending tray.
The in-orbit validation programme for Galileo, Europe's global satellite navigation system, is celebrating three years since the first signal was broadcast by the GIOVE-A satellite. The programme has been gathering momentum since the launch of the GIOVE-A satellite and its success in securing the critical Galileo frequency filing with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) before the filing expired in June 2006.
Galileo satellite knocked offline A test spacecraft for Europe's future satellite-navigation system has been rocked by a surge of space radiation. The incident forced the Giove-B satellite to adopt a "safe mode" for two weeks in which only essential power systems were kept running. European Space Agency (Esa) engineers have brought the satellite back up and are now studying what happened.
Eleven industrial groups will compete for the contracts to build Europe's much-delayed satellite-navigation system, Galileo. They were chosen from an initial list of 21 that had indicated an interest in participating in the project. Galileo will rival but also complement the US GPS network.
Giove-B, the second demonstrator spacecraft for Europe's proposed satellite navigation system, is finally to be sent for launch. The craft, currently held at a test centre in Holland, will be despatched to the Baikonur spaceport next week for a Soyuz flight in late April.
Europe is building its own satellite navigation system, Galileo, which will deliver a new, advanced global civil positioning service for the benefit of citizens in Europe and throughout the world. On Wednesday 5 March, media representatives will have the unique opportunity to attend an in-depth Galileo background briefing at ESTEC. It will be the last opportunity to see GIOVE-B before it is packed for shipment to the launch base at Baikonur in Kazakhstan. A visit of the navigation laboratory where GIOVE signals are analysed is included in the programme.