ESA Orders Four New Galileo Satellites, Raising Its Fleet to 16
The European Space Agency has ordered four additional second-generation Galileo satellites, with Thales Alenia Space and Airbus building two each, bringing the second-generation fleet to 16 satellites.
The European Space Agency announced the procurement of four additional second-generation satellites for the Galileo navigation system, bringing the total fleet of this generation to 16 satellites.
The four satellites will be built by Thales Alenia Space in Italy and Airbus Defence and Space in Germany, with two satellites per company.
The satellites are scheduled for delivery in 2031 and will be launched shortly thereafter, while the launch of the first second-generation satellite is planned for 2028.
According to the agency, the four satellites will be delivered on schedule and launched immediately, expanding the European system's coverage in subsequent years.
What do these terms mean?
Galileo: A European satellite navigation system providing positioning and timing services.
Second Generation: An upgraded version of the satellites and ground infrastructure offering better accuracy and services than the first generation.
Navigation Satellites: Satellites that transmit temporal and spatial signals used by devices to determine their location.
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