Arianespace and Roscosmos Launch Two Galileo Satellites

Credit: Arianespace

On December 4 at 7:19am ET, Arianespace and Roscosmos launched the final two Galileo satellites, the 23rd and 24th, atop the Russian Soyuz ST-B/Fregat-MT from Europe's Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana. The launch was originally targeted for December 3 at 7:24am ET, but this attempt was scrubbed due to weather. The flight is numbered VS26 by Arianespace. The Galileo satellites, commissioned by the European Union, are designed to provide a high-precision positioning system for Europeans, so they don't have to rely on the American GPS and the Russian GLONASS systems.

The first test satellite was launched in 2005. The first operational satellite was launched in 2011 on a Soyuz rocket. Soyuz launched the satellites from 2011 to 2016 before Ariane 5 took over until 2018. A break of launches followed after this. Galileo satellites will be launched on Soyuz again this year and next year before Ariane 62 takes over in 2023.

Credit: Arianespace