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Tag: Galileo 14

  • Galileo 13 and 14 satellites ready for Tuesday launch

    Galileo 13 and 14 satellites ready for Tuesday launch

    Galileos 13 and 14 are scheduled to lift off at 08:48:43 GMT (05:48:43 local time, 10:48:43 CEST) on May 24 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana atop a Soyuz launcher.

    The first three stages of the Soyuz rocket take the Galileo satellites and their Fregat upper stage into low orbit nine minutes after liftoff. Then the reignitable Fregat, as much a spacecraft as a rocket stage, takes over the task of hauling the satellites higher through a pair of burns.

    The satellites will be released in opposite directions by their dispenser once they reach their target 22,522-kilometer-altitude orbit 3 hours and 48 minutes after launch.

    On Wednesday, May 18, Europe’s latest Galileo satellites were placed atop their upper stage then enclosed within their protective rocket fairing. The encapsulation took place inside the Spaceport’s cleanroom, as a two-piece Soyuz fairing was closed around the satellites, attached to their carrier atop the Fregat upper stage.

    Europe's 13th and 14th Galileo satellites being encapsulated inside their launcher fairing. (Photo: ESA)
    Europe’s 13th and 14th Galileo satellites being encapsulated inside their launcher fairing. (Photo: ESA)

    The satellites had been installed on Fregat the previous day. This versatile upper stage will haul them the bulk of the way to their target 23,500-kilometer-altitude orbit.

    The sealed satellites, dispenser and upper stage are collectively known as the “upper composite.” Today, the plan is to roll out the first three stages of Galileo’s Soyuz to the launchpad, ready for mating with this upper composite.

    This will be the seventh Galileo launch, set to bring the number of satellites in space up to 14. Four more Galileos are planned to take flight in the autumn, launched for the first time on a customized Ariane 5 to bring the total number of satellites in the constellation to 18.

    Watch the launch live here. Streaming begins at 08:28 GMT (10:28 CEST) on 24  May for the liftoff, then resumes at 12:23 GMT (14:23 CEST) to cover the satellites’ separation.

    For other upcoming GNSS satellite launches, see this page.

    Early Operations Phase. According to the European Space Agency (ESA), a combined team of specialists is conducting final training at ESA’s ESOC mission control centre to prepare for the launch.

    The team comprises over 40 experts drawn from ESA and from France’s CNES space agency, supported by additional specialists at both agencies in areas such as flight dynamics and ground stations.

    Within the combined flight control team, each position is paired with its counterpart from the other agency and mixed CNESOC shifts will rotate to conduct operations around the clock.

    The same team conducts all the Galileo early operations alternately from ESOC and from the CNES control centre in Toulouse, France.

    By launch day, the teams will have completed a demanding series of joint simulation training sessions at ESOC, complemented by more specific training conducted separately at each control centre. Joint sessions are especially important to develop team bonds “on-console” — so individuals get to know who will be working beside them and can foster one-on-one teamwork and mutual support.

    Three Flight Operations Directors and three Spacecraft Operations Managers will work together with their teams in each of three shifts during the nine-day early operations phase. From left: Hélène Cottet (CNES), Remi Lapeyre (CNES), Liviu Stefanov (ESA), Christelle Crozat (ESA), Thomas Cowell (ESA) and Hervé Côme (ESA).
    Three Flight Operations Directors and three Spacecraft Operations Managers will work together with their teams in each of three shifts during the nine-day early operations phase. From left: Hélène Cottet (CNES), Remi Lapeyre (CNES), Liviu Stefanov (ESA), Christelle Crozat (ESA), Thomas Cowell (ESA) and Hervé Côme (ESA).

     

  • Payload integration begins next Galileo launch

    The first of two Galileo navigation satellites to be orbited on Arianespace’s May 24 Soyuz flight has been integrated on its payload dispenser system, marking a key step as preparations advance for this medium-lift mission from French Guiana.

    Named “Danielė,” the Galileo 13 spacecraft was installed this week during activity inside the Spaceport’s S3B payload preparation facility. It is to be joined on the dispenser system by the mission’s other passenger, “Alizée” or Galileo 14, whose own installation is forthcoming, in a side-by-side arrangement.

    The pair — each named after children who won a European Commission-organized painting competition in 2011 — are then to be mated atop Soyuz’ Fregat upper stage and encapsulated in the protective payload fairing. Prime contractor OHB System in Bremen, Germany produced the satellites, and their onboard payloads are supplied by UK-based Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) – which is 99-percent owned by Airbus Defence and Space.

    The Galileo FOC satellite “Danielė” is moved into position, then integrated on its payload dispenser at the Spaceport’s S3B payload preparation facility. (Photo: Arianespace)
    The Galileo FOC satellite “Danielė” is moved into position, then integrated on its payload dispenser at the Spaceport’s S3B payload preparation facility. (Photo: Arianespace)

    “Danielė” and “Alizée” will become the 13th and 14th FOC (Full Operational Capability) spacecraft to join Europe’s Galileo navigation system, which was conceived to provide high-quality positioning, navigation and timing services under civilian control. Its FOC phase is managed and funded by the European Commission, with the European Space Agency (ESA) delegated as the design and procurement agent on the Commission’s behalf.

    The May 24 flight is designated Flight VS15, and will be performed from the purpose-built ELS launch complex at Europe’s Spaceport. Arianespace’s Soyuz will carry out a nearly 3-hour, 48-minute mission to place its Galileo passengers into a targeted circular orbit at an altitude of 23,522 kilometers, inclined 57.394 degrees to the equator. Total payload lift performance is estimated at 1,599 kg.