Final functional testing of Galileo satellites has been completed at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.
The fuelling of the two satellites, allowing them to fine-tune their orbits and maintain their altitude over the course of their 12-year lifetimes, took place on 7–8 August. Read more…
The next pair of Galileo satellites are due to be launched together on a Soyuz rocket from French Guiana on 21 August, advancing the deployment of Europe’s own satellite navigation constellation.
Following launch, the most crucial point in the flight comes when the two satellites separate from their upper stage and the Launch and Early Operations (LEOP) phase begins, run from ESA’s Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany. Read more…
The departure of the Galileo satellites from ESA’s test centre in the Netherlands took place on 5 May. Here is a picture of that moment. After several months of testing, this latest full-capability Galileo navigation satellite left along with its twin.
Galileo satellite departure from ESTEC
Both satellites were loaded aboard trucks to be driven to Frankfurt Airport in Germany. From there, they were flown to Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana the following evening where they will be launched together by a Soyuz later this summer. Read more…
Europe’s two latest Galileo navigation satellites touched down on 7-May at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, ready for their joint launch this summer.
Galileo satellites unloaded from the Boeing 747
Packed safely within protective and environmentally controlled containers, the satellites were carried across the Atlantic aboard a Boeing 747 cargo carrier. Read more…
The 22 FOC Galileo satellites being built by OHB in Germany with a payload from Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd in the UK will pass through ESTEC for testing on their way to launch in the next few years.
The testing of the first two FOC satellites, already in ESTEC, is especially rigorous because the overall design is being validated, while the next batch of satellites will undergo lighter acceptance testing instead. Read more…
The 22 satellites so far contracted to join the four already in orbit are having their payloads manufactured at Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd in the UK, which are then integrated to their satellite platforms at OHB in Germany. Finally, each complete satellite is tested at ESTEC in the Netherlands for launch from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.
This main manufacturing process is fed by smaller but no less crucial production lines all across Europe, run by specialised companies supplying essential building blocks to Galileo’s prime contractors. Read more…
Late last year, Galileo program managers laid out an ambitious schedule of launches, including two dual-satellite launches this year. They wanted 14 to 18 FOC (Full Operational Capability) spacecraft in place by the end of 2014. Target difficult to achieve assuming the missing of the planned september/october 2013 launch, postponed to december. Even this last milestone seems quite unlikely to meet.
The first FOC Galileo satellite is under test at the ESA’s European Space Research and Technology Center (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, The Netherlands, It has been acknowledged that the new-generation spacecraft’s launch will not occur until December 28, and even that date looks highly unlikely. Read more…