Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
SpaceX recently signed an agreement with the European Space Agency (ESA) to launch four Galileo satellites on its Falcon 9 rocket next year.
By Inside GNSS
ESA’s Ariane 6 launch vehicle, on which the deployment of the EU’s Galileo GNSS satellite constellation now depends, has taken another step towards first flight. A fresh series of hot fire tests of the rocket’s upper stage and all-new Vinci engine is now underway at Germany’s DLR center for engine and stage testing in Lampoldshausen.
By Peter Gutierrez
The European Space Agency (ESA) has preordered four additional Galileo launches on the new Ariane 6 rocket from Arianespace. Starting in January 2022, the launches will orbit eight satellites from Batch 3 to support the final deployment of the Galileo constellation and the replacement of certain satellites.
By Inside GNSS
Four of the latest set of Galileo navigation satellites will be launched on Ariane 6 rockets as the European Space Agency has announced it will become Arianespace’s first customer for Europe’s new vehicle.
The launches are scheduled between the end of 2020 and mid-2021, using two Ariane 62 rockets – the configuration of Europe’s next-generation launch vehicle that is best suited to haul the two 750-kilogram navigation satellites that operate in a 23,000-kilometer medium-Earth orbit.
By Inside GNSS
