Tag Archives: sat-8

Galileos 7 & 8 broadcasting navigation signals

Galileo's 20-m IOT L-band antenna at Redu

Galileo’s 20-m IOT L-band antenna at Redu

Having completed their rigorous checks in space, two more of Europe’s Galileo satellites are now fully operational, broadcasting navigation signals and, from today, relaying search and rescue messages from across the globe.

Galileos 7 and 8 were launched from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 27 March. Once the satellites were nursed to life in orbit, their navigation payloads underwent a lengthy test campaign.

This involved assessing that the satellites themselves were performing as planned and meshing with the worldwide Galileo ground network.

The satellites’ secondary search and rescue payloads were also put to the test, picking up and relaying UHF signals from distress beacons as part of the international Cospas–Sarsat system. Read more…

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Next steps after successful launch of satellite 7 & 8

The EU’s Galileo satellite navigation system now has eight satellites in orbit following the launch of the latest pair. Galileo 7 & 8 lifted off at 21:46 GMT (22:46 CET) on 27 March from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on top of a Soyuz rocket. All the Soyuz stages performed as planned, with the Fregat upper stage releasing the satellites into their target orbit close to 23 500 km altitude, around 3 hours 48 minutes after liftoff.

Galileo Soyuz-VS11 (27-March 2015)

Galileo Soyuz-VS11 (27-March 2015)

Following initial checks, run jointly by ESA and France’s CNES space agency from the CNES Toulouse centre, the two satellites will be handed over to the Galileo Control Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany and the Galileo in-orbit testing facility in Redu, Belgium for testing before they are commissioned for operational service. This is expected in mid-year. Read more…

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Galileo liftoff replay [Video]

The liftoff of Soyuz flight VS11 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana took place as scheduled on 21:46:18 GMT (22:46:18 CET) on Friday 27 March 2015. The launcher was carrying Europe’s seventh and eighth Galileo navigation satellites, due to separate from their Fregat upper stage into their assigned orbit on 3 h 47 min after lift-off.

 

 

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Soyuz VS11 successfully launches Galileo 7 & 8

Arianespace has orbited the two latest satellites in the Galileo constellation, the seventh and eighth named “Adam” and “Anastasia”. The Soyuz VS11 launch  from the Guiana Space Center took place on Friday, March 27 at 21:46 GMT. The medium-lift Soyuz performed a flight of nearly 3 hours and 48 minutes to deploy both spacecrafts.

Galileo Soyuz-VS11 (27-March 2015)

Galileo Soyuz-VS11 (27-March 2015)

Galileo Soyuz-VS11 (27-March 2015)

Galileo Soyuz-VS11 (27-March 2015)

After an initial powered phase of Soyuz’ three lower stages, the launch included two burns of the Fregat upper stage, separated by a three-hour-plus ballistic phase, to place the two 700-kg.-class satellites at their targeted deployment point. Total payload lift performance for the flight was estimated at 1,597 kg. on a mission to a circular medium-Earth orbit. Read more…

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Watch Galileo launch-4 live

The seventh and eighth Galileo satellites are scheduled for launch tomorrow, March 27, at 21:46:18 GMT (22:46:18 CET) atop a Soyuz ST-B rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Streaming starts at 21:26 GMT (22:26 CET) at the European Space Agency website.

The first three stages of the Soyuz rocket will take the Galileo satellites and their Fregat upper stage into low orbit. Then the reignitable Fregat, as much a spacecraft as a rocket stage, will take over the task of hauling the satellites higher through a pair of burns. The satellites will be released in opposite directions by their dispenser once they reach their set 22,522 kilometer-altitude orbit 3 hours, 47 minutes, 57 seconds after launch. Read more…

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