EU launches four Galileo satellites
27 Jul 2018
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With the launch of four more Galileo satellites on Wednesday, Europe now has 26 such satellites in orbit.
The Galileo programme is funded and owned by the European Union (EU) and aims to provide high-precision positioning services around the world.
The satellites were launched by Airanespace, on behalf of European Commission, under contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) from a spaceport in French Guiana. The Ariane 5 rocket was used to deploy the satellites as part of a mission that lasted for nearly four hours.
According to Stéphane Israël, CEO, Arianespace, the EU through the Commission, will have around 30 launches to perform in the next several years.
Weighing around 716kg each, the satellites were deployed from a dispenser system that released the probes in two sets with a 20 minute interval.
It was also the final Galileo mission that used an Ariane 5 rocket. Future launches for the Galileo system will use the next-generation Ariane 6 rocket, which is expected to begin providing services to Europe in 2020.
While the EU aims to use Galileo to tap into the global market for satellite navigation services, a row has broken out in the midst of Brexit negotiations. The UK has accused the EU of keeping British companies out of the project, much before its exit from the union.
The Galileo satellites are part of the EU’s alternative to the Global Positioning System (GPS) of the US, and aims to ensure its independence from other satellite navigation systems. The global market for such services is estimated to top 250 billion euros by 2022.
