Two new satellites joining Galileo constellation

Two new Galileo navigation satellites were launched yesterday aboard an Ariane 6 rocket. This will expand the Galileo constellation to 29 active satellites in about three months, when these satellites – SAT 33 and SAT 34 - will be in their positions in medium Earth orbit at approximately 23,222 km and start operation.

The satellites were launched at 06:01 CET, and at 10:51 CET the first signals were received, indicating not only that the launch was successful, but also that the satellites were healthy with their solar arrays deployed.

This marked the 14th launch for Europe’s Galileo constellation, and the fifth launch of the new Ariane 6 launcher.Galileo satellites have been launched into space since 2011, and since becoming officially operational in 2016 (with full operational capability achieved progressively), the Galileo constellation provides horizontal accuracy down to 20 cm.