Europe’s next Galileo satellites have been put in place on top of the Ariane 5 launcher due to lift them from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana on Wednesday 25 July.

Galileo satellites 23-26 were lifted to the top of their Ariane 5 launcher inside the BAF ‘Bâtiment d’Assemblage’ building on Wednesday 11 July, ahead of their Wednesday 25 July 2018 launch.

The launcher – appearing headless in the absence of its final payload – was moved from the BIL Launcher Integration Building, where it was assembled, to the BAF Final Assembly Building, ready for the Galileo satellites to be mated with it. Read more…

Europe’s next four Galileo satellites have been fuelled at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, in preparation for their launch on 25 July.

Technicians on SCAPE (Self Contained Atmospheric Protection Ensemble) suits to fill Galileo satellites 23-26 with hydrazine fuel. This operation took place in the Guiana Space Centre’s S3B payload preparation building on 29 June 2018

The four satellites were placed into their protective containers to be transported from the S1A processing building to the S3B payload preparation building, where they were filled with the hydrazine fuel that will keep the satellites manoeuverable during their 12-year working lives. Read more…