Galileo satellites 9 and 10 are functioning perfectly, and the initial series of flight operations is continuing as part of the critical launch and early orbit phase, according to a European Space Agency Rocket Science blog by Daniel Scuka.
Galileo 9 and 10 lifted off together at 02:08 GMT on Sept. 11 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana atop a Soyuz launcher, bringing to 10 the total number of Galileo satellites in orbit.
“The pair are being stepped through an intense series of check-outs, confirmations, mode changes, configurations and health verifications by the joint ESA/CNES mission team working around the clock at ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany,” Daniel writes. “The team are now focusing on conducting a series of thruster burns designed to start the drift of the two satellites toward their target orbital positions.”
“Following the burns performed during the LEOP (launch and early orbit phase), the satellites will continue naturally drifting, ending up in their final desired operational orbits at about 23,222 km after another set of thruster burns, planned to achieve fine positioning in orbit, around the end of October,” said Liviu Stefanov, co-flight director from ESA.
With the excellent performance of the spacecraft and the ground teams, the LEOP is expected to wrap up soon.
Europe’s own satellite navigation system has come a step nearer to completion today with Galileo 9 and 10, which lifted off together at 02:08 GMT on Sept. 11 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana atop a Soyuz launcher.
All the Soyuz stages performed as planned, with the Fregat upper stage releasing the satellites into their target orbit close to 23 500 km altitude, around 3 hours and 48 minutes after liftoff.
“The deployment of Europe’s Galileo system is rapidly gathering pace,” said Jan Woerner, director general of the European Space Agency (ESA). “By steadily boosting the number of satellites in space, together with new stations on the ground across the world, Galileo will soon have a global reach. The day of Galileo’s full operational capability is approaching. It will be a great day for Europe.”
Two more Galileo satellites are scheduled for launch by end of this year. These satellites have completed testing at ESA’s ESTEC technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, with the next two satellites also undergoing their own test campaigns.
Galileo 9 and 10 lift off. (Photo: ESA)
More Galileo satellites are being manufactured by OHB in Bremen, Germany, with navigation payloads coming from Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd in the UK, in turn utilizing elements sourced from all across Europe.
“Production of the satellites has attained a regular rhythm,” said Didier Faivre, ESA’s Director of Galileo and Navigation-related Activities. “At the same time, all Galileo testing performed up to now — including that of the ground segment — has been returning extremely positive results.
“And while the continuing deployment of Galileo remains our priority, along with exploitation of EGNOS — Europe’s already operational satellite navigation augmentation system — ESA is also looking farther ahead.
“With the European Commission, we are doing the technical work to ensure Galileo goes on forever — locking in continuity of Europe’s navigation services into the long term, to meet performance on a par with the other global satellite navigation systems.”
Next year the deployment of the Galileo system will be boosted by the entry into operation of a specially customized Ariane 5 launcher that can double, from two to four, the number of satellites that can be inserted into orbit with a single launch.
On Sept. 7, the upper composite containing Galileos 9–10 was transferred to the launch pad, then hoisted up to the top of the Soyuz launch tower to be joined to the other stages.
Galileo 9 and 10 are due for launch atop a Soyuz rocket at 02:08 GMT on Sept. 11 (04:08 CEST; 23:08 local time, Sept. 10) from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Streaming starts at 01:48 GMT (03:48 CEST) on the European Space Agency website. Or watch at Arianespace’s website (with commentary in French or English), starting 15 minutes before liftoff. You can also follow the launch live on your iPhone or iPad using the free Arianespace.tv app.
The first three stages of the Soyuz rocket take the Galileo satellites and their Fregat upper stage into low orbit. Then the reignitable Fregat, as much a spacecraft as a rocket stage, will take 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 set 22 522 km-altitude orbit 3 h 47 min 57 sec after launch.
The webstream will cover the launch and orbital insertion in two parts, the first starting at 01:48 GMT (03:48 CEST) and ending at 02:40 GMT (04:40 CEST). The second part will begin at 05:43 GMT (07:43 CEST) and end at 06:50 GMT (08:50 CEST).
Two more satellites are scheduled for launch by end of this year. One is under test at ESA’s ESTEC technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, while the other has already completed its checks and is awaiting shipping to Kourou in the second half of October.
In addition, the first satellite of the following batch (Galileo-13) is undergoing its thermal-vacuum test at ESTEC, while the second (Galileo-14) arrived on Monday.
The Soyuz launcher is transferred to the launch pad. (Credit: Arianespace)
I had the honour of the first question at today’s Galileo press conference hosted by the European Space Agency (ESA), and it was about the status of the satellites launched last March. The answer to that question and others are below.
The satellites being launched this evening are destined for Plane A and will be its first occupants. They will occupy slots 5 and 8 in the plane. They will undergo a 76-day-long in-orbit test procedure before being made available to users.
The satellites launched in March, Galileo satellites 7 and 8 (a.k.a. FOC-FM3 or GSAT0203 and FOC-FM4 or GSAT0204 using PRNs 26 and 22, respectively), have essentially completed in-orbit testing and should be available to users sometime this month.
The ground segment is to be modified to enable the production of navigation messages for satellites 5 and 6 (a.k.a. FOC-FM1 or GSAT0201 and FOC-FM2 or GSAT0202 using PRNs 18 and 14, respectively) launched in August 2014 into wrong orbits (a “kind of Plane D” according to one of the ESA officials at the press conference). This will occur by the beginning of 2016 when these satellites will then be available for testing in navigation and positioning applications. They will not be included in the broadcast almanac as the orbits are too far from nominal to be represented by the standard almanac format. But the signals should be fully usable by those receivers and chipsets that can acquire and track Galileo satellites without an almanac. Testing will be carried out to see if the satellites can become part of the operational constellation.
IOV-4 (a.k.a. FM4 or GSAT0104 using PRN 20), the in-orbit validation satellite that suffered a power failure in May 2014 and is only broadcasting on the E1 frequency, may become operational for single-frequency use if suitable ground segment modifications can be made.
The next Galileo launch after this evening’s will be in December on a Soyuz launcher when another two satellites will be placed into orbit.
In 2016, there will be one launch but using, for the first time, the Ariane 5 launcher, to place four satellites into orbit.
In 2017, there will be two launches: a Soyuz launch orbiting two satellites, and an Ariane 5 launch, orbiting four satellites.
A 30-satellite constellation will be in place by 2020, following ESA’s slogan “30 satellites by 2020,” with 10 satellites per plane with each plane having two spare satellites. This should be feasible as two satellites are now being manufactured every three months. Twenty-four satellites is the minimum for Galileo operational capability.
UPDATED 08/28/15 with information from the European Space Agency.
Europe’s ninth and tenth Galileo satellites were fueled Aug. 24 by technicians in protective SCAPE suits within the Guiana Space Centre’s 3SB preparation building. This left the satellites ready to be attached to their launcher upper stage in preparation for launch. (Photo:ESA)
The two European Galileo navigation satellites for Arianespace’s next mission from French Guiana have been fueled at the Spaceport, readying them for integration with their Soyuz launcher.
Galileo full operational capability (FOC) satellites 9 and 10 were “topped off” during activity this week at the Spaceport’s S3B payload preparation facility, further advancing preparations for the Sept. 10 mission — which is designated Flight VS12 in Arianespace’s launcher family numbering system, signifying the 12th liftoff of the medium-lift Soyuz vehicle from French Guiana. Lift-off is scheduled for 02:08:10 p.m. UTC.
Flight VS12’s satellites are the fifth and sixth in Galileo’s FOC phase. They were produced by OHB System, with Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. supplying their navigation payloads that will generate precise positioning measurements and services around the world.
The Sept. 10 mission will be the fifth Soyuz flight with Galileo satellites performed by Arianespace from French Guiana — a series that began with the Russian-built launcher’s inaugural liftoff at the Spaceport in Oct. 2011.
At full deployment, the Galileo program will consist of 30 satellites — comprising operational spacecraft and reserves — situated on three circular medium Earth orbits at some 23,200 km. altitude inclined 56 degrees to the equator. The constellation — and associated ground infrastructure — will provide high-quality positioning, navigation and timing services under civilian control, and be interoperable with GPS and the Russian GLONASS.
Galileo’s FOC phase is managed and funded by the European Commission, with the European Space Agency delegated as the design and procurement agent on the commission’s behalf.
Arianespace Flight VS12 will be the company’s eighth mission this year, following the successful launches in 2015 of four heavy-lift Ariane 5s, two lightweight Vega vehicles, and one Soyuz.
Technicians donned spacesuit-like SCAPE (Self Contained Atmospheric Protective Ensemble) suits to fill each satellite with sufficient hydrazine fuel for their planned 12 years of operations in space, the European Space Agency describes in a news release. This fuel is needed for fine-tuning of their orbital paths following their launch, followed by routine orbital and attitude control over the course of their working lives.
Each Galileo satellite needs to keep its navigation antenna trained on Earth’s disc at all times, employing dedicated infrared Earth and Sun sensors for this purpose. This marked the first time Galileo had been fuelled within the Guiana Space Centre’s 3SB preparation building. Previously, the S5 fuelling building was dedicated to this purpose, but upgrades by Arianespace mean fuelling can now take place at the same location where they will subsequently be attached to their Fregat upper stage, streamlining the satellite preparation process. Completion of fuelling means the two satellites are essentially ready for launch — what needs to be accomplished now is to first attach the Galileos to their launch dispenser, then to fix this in turn to their Fregat.
The satellites plus Fregat will then be encapsulated within the launcher fairing, after which this ‘upper composite’ can then be attached to the other three stages of the Soyuz ST-B launcher. The latest Galileo launch campaign commenced at the end of July, with the arrival of the satellites in French Guiana on July 24. A “fit check” followed, to confirm the satellites as delivered in Kourou did indeed fit onto the dispenser that will first secure them in place during launch and then pyrotechnically eject them into their orbits once their target 23 222 km altitude medium-Earth orbit has been reached. This was followed by in-depth system checks and final settings of onboard navigation and data handling software parameters.
Two further Galileo satellites are still scheduled for launch by end of this year. One of these satellites is completing testing at ESA’s ESTEC technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, while the other one has already completed its testing and is awaiting transportation to Kourou in the second half of October.
In addition the first satellite of the following batch has arrived at ESTEC and is currently undergoing its thermal vacuum test. Another flight model will arrive at ESTEC by mid-September.
Two BeiDou navigation satellites were launched into medium Earth orbit on Saturday, July 25, at 12:29:04.411 UTC, according to a NASASpaceFlight.com Forum blog. The satellites are drifting to their designated orbits. U.S. Joint Space Operations Center / NORAD is tracking the satellites.
The satellites are designated BDS M1-S and M2-S — the “S” in the satellite names might stand for “Test” (in Chinese: 试验 = Shiyan).
After the first main engine cut-off, the GPS IIF-10 mission entered a three-hour coast phase. (Courtesy: ULA)
UPDATE (July 15, 4 p.m. ET): United Launch Alliance (ULA) officials have declared the launch mission a success. The Centaur upper stage completed its second burn and released the GPS IIF-10 satellite into the navigation network to complete today’s launch of the Atlas 5 rocket.
“Congratulations to the U.S Air Force and the entire mission team on today’s successful launch of the 10th GPS IIF satellite! In just a few days, on July 17, the Global Positioning System will celebrate the 20th anniversary of GPS achieving fully operational status,” said Jim Sponnick, ULA vice president, Atlas and Delta Programs. “ULA is very proud to play a role in delivering these satellites to orbit, with Atlas and Delta rockets having launched all 58 operational GPS satellites.”
“Today’s successful launch is a testament to the outstanding teamwork of government and industry partners’ commitment to mission success. The GPS IIF satellites are critical for GPS constellation global service for years to come,” said Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, Space and Missile Systems Center commander. “Thanks to the men and women of SMC, the 45th, 50th, 310th Space Wings, Boeing, United Launch Alliance, The Aerospace Corporation, the GPS IIF, and the Atlas V launch teams, we are sustaining and modernizing the world’s greatest space-based, precise positioning, navigation and timing service.”
The tenth GPS IIF satellite lifted off from the Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41 at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on schedule at 11:36 local time (15:36 UTC) on July 15, at the start of a nineteen-minute launch window.
This is the second of three GPS constellation replenishment flights planned in 2015. The first launch, of GPS IIF-9 using a Delta IV rocket, occurred on March 25. A third launch, of GPS IIF-11 using an Atlas rocket, is scheduled for Sept. 22. The launch of GPS IIF-12 is scheduled for Jan. 26, 2016.
The Boeing-built GPS IIF-10 is one of the next-generation GPS satellites, incorporating various improvements to provide greater accuracy, increased signals, and enhanced performance for users. GPS IIF-10 was the 70th spacecraft to be launched as part of the GPS constellation and the tenth in the Block IIF series that began launching in May 2010.
GPS IIF-10 marks the 55th Atlas V launch since the vehicle’s inaugural launch in 2002 and the 27th flight of the 401 configuration. Every operational GPS mission has launched on a United Launch Alliance or heritage rocket. While the government has certified ULA competitor SpaceX for GPS III launches, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded June 29, two minutes after launch of an International Space Station resupply mission.
The Boeing-built GPS IIF satellites provide improved signals to support both the warfighter and the growing civilian needs of the global economy, the U.S. Air Force said in a statement. The GPS IIF satellites will provide improved accuracy through advanced atomic clocks, a longer design life than previous GPS satellites, and a new operational third civil signal (L5) that benefits commercial aviation and safety-of-life applications. It will also continue to deploy the modernized capabilities that began with the GPS IIR satellites, including a more robust military signal.
Galileo 7 and 8 were launched into orbit March 27. (Screenshot of ESA/Arianespace livestream feed.)
Europe’s two newest Galileo satellites — launched March 27 — have carried out maneuvers to take them down to their working positions in orbit. Both satellites are performing well. Galileo 7 and 8 were launched into a circular 23,522 km altitude orbit about 300 km above their final orbit.
Using their onboard thrusters, the two Galileo satellites have performed all their Launch and Early Operations Phase (LEOP) maneuvers, reports the European Space Agency (ESA). The maneuvers began as soon as the automatic initialization sequence was completed.
A joint team of ESA and CNES personnel oversaw the LEOP process from the French space agency CNES in Toulouse. On March 28, the team ensured that the two satellites’ solar arrays deployed correctly and oversaw the gradual switch-on of the satellites systems.
Once the two satellites passed inspection, control was passed to Galileo’s Oberpfaffenhofen-based Control Centre (run by SpaceOpal, a joint venture by DLR Gesellschaft für Raumfahrtanwendungen and Telespazio) to prepare for their final In-Orbit Testing (IOT) in two phases: commissioning for the host satellite platforms, and then their navigation and search and rescue payloads. Platform commissioning is now taking place.
The Galileo satellites’ navigation and the search and rescue payloads will be switched on in few weeks and will begin detailed in-orbit testing, overseen from ESA’s Redu centre in Belgium, which is equipped with a 20-meter antenna for high-resolution acquisition of the navigation signals.
The hosting of Galileo’s LEOP team alternates between CNES in Toulouse and ESA’s ESOC control centre in Darmstadt, Germany. Early operation of the next pair of Galileo satellites will be masterminded from ESOC — launch is scheduled for September.
The fourth satellite in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, launched on March 28, has arrived at its designated orbital slot.
Based on data supplied by the U.S. Joint Space Operations Center, IRNSS-1D is in an inclined geosynchronous orbit with an inclination of 30.5 degrees and a nodal longitude of 111.7 degrees east, within the allowed limits of the assigned longitude of 111.5 degrees east.
UPDATE (3/31/15): The BeiDou satellite is being targeted for an IGSO orbit, not a MEO orbit as previously speculated. The two images below make this clear.
Photo: BeiDouPhoto: BeiDou
Below is a CCTV (China Central Television) news story covering the launch.
UPDATE (3/30/15): China’s launch of BeiDou-3 M1 is now being reported in that country’s media. The launch occurred at 21:52 on March 30. BeiDou-3 M1 is the first of 17 next-generation Beidou navigation satellites. It will have a new navigation signal system with inter-satellite links and other tests to verify the satellite navigation system.
NASA Spaceflight is reporting that China is believed to have launched the first of a new generation of navigation satellites for its BeiDou constellation. However, the launch has received a blackout in China, with lift-off only confirmed by local observers.
The possible launch of BeiDou-3 M1 took place at 13:52 UTC today from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on a Chinese Long March 3C rocket, with the debut use of the new Expedition-1 (Yuanzheng-1) upper stage.
Today’s launch involved a new series of satellites that is expected to mark an advancement in the completion of its Beidou Phase III program several years ahead of schedule, by as soon as 2017 rather than 2020, NASA Spaceflight reports.
The Beidou Phase III system includes the migration of its civil Beidou 1 or B1 signal from 1561.098 MHz to a frequency centered at 1575.42 MHz – the same as the GPS L1 and Galileo E1 civil signals — and its transformation from a quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulation to a multiplexed binary offset carrier (MBOC) modulation similar to the future GPS L1C and Galileo’s E1. The current (Phase II) B1 open service signal uses QPSK modulation with 4.092 megahertz bandwidth centered at 1561.098 MHz.
The Galileo launch team celebrates after a successful launch. (Screenshot of ESA/Arianespace live stream of lift-off.)
The two newest Galileo satellites — dubbed Adam and Anastasia — launched Friday are now being checked out by the European Space Agency (ESA) and France’s CNES space agency from the CNES Toulouse centre.
Following these initial checks, the two satellites will be handed over to the Galileo Control Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, and the Galileo in-orbit testing facility in Redu, Belgium, for testing before they are commissioned for operational service. This is expected by mid-year.
Screenshot of ESA/Arianespace live stream following lift-off.
Adam and Anastasia are the third and fourth Full Operational Capability (FOC) spacecraft for Europe’s Galileo global navigation satellite system.
After an initial powered phase of Soyuz’ three lower stages, the launch included two burns of the Fregat upper stage — separated by a three-hour-plus ballistic phase — to place the two 700-kg.-class satellites at their targeted deployment point, according to launch contractor Arianespace. Total payload lift performance for the flight was estimated at 1,597 kg. on a mission to a circular medium-Earth orbit.
During post-launch comments from the Spaceport, Arianespace Chairman and CEO Stéphane Israël thanked and congratulated everyone involved with the Soyuz mission — designated VS11 in the company’s numbering system — but added that there is still much work to be done for the Galileo program moving forward.
He said there are six more Galileo launches to come following tonight’s success: three missions on Soyuz with six additional FOC satellites, and three launches on Ariane 5, with 12 more units.
Screenshot of ESA/Arianespace live stream following lift-off.
“The satellites are doing fine and are in good hands, managed by the Toulouse CNES [French space agency] operational center,” added Didier Faivre, director of Navigation Programs for ESA. “Let’s rejoice with this very good news. We will be back as soon as possible to continue deploying our satellites.”
The on-target Soyuz launch of Adam and Anastasia followed by one day the 35th anniversary of Arianespace’s creation in 1980. Adam and Anastasia were built by OHB System, with Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. supplying their navigation payloads.
Galileo’s FOC phase — during which the network’s complete operational and ground infrastructure will be deployed — is being managed and funded by the European Commission, with ESA delegated as the design and procurement agent on the commission’s behalf.
The fourth satellite of IRNSS satellite navigation constellation, IRNSS-1D, was launched onboard PSLV-C27 on Saturday, March 28, according to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle blasted off at 11:49 GMT (7:49 a.m. EST), or 5:19 p.m. local time, at the Satish Dhawan Space Center on India’s east coast.
This is the fourth successful launch of a navigation satellite in less than a week, following GPS IIF-9 on Wednesday and Galileo 7 and 8 on Friday. A fifth navigation satellite, for the BeiDou constellation, is expected to launch tomorrow.
This is the 28th consecutively successful mission of the PSLV, the ISRO said. The “XL” configuration of PSLV was used for this mission. Previously, the same configuration of the vehicle was successfully used seven times.
After the PSLV-C27 lift-off with the ignition of the first stage, the subsequent important flight events took place as planned. After a flight of about 19 minutes, 25 seconds, the IRNSS-1D satellite was injected to an elliptical orbit of 282.52 km X 20,644 km, very close to the intended orbit, and successfully separated from the PSLV fourth stage.
After injection, the solar panels of IRNSS-1D were deployed automatically. ISRO’s Master Control Facility (at Hassan, Karnataka) took over the control of the satellite. In the coming days, four orbit maneuvers will be conducted from the Master Control Facility to position the satellite in geosynchronous orbit at 111.75 degrees East longitude with 30.5 degrees inclination.
IRNSS-D is the fourth of seven IRNSS satellites to be launched to provide navigational services to the region, according to the ISRO. The satellite was placed in geosynchronous orbit. Predecessors IRNSS-1A, 1B and 1C were launched by PSLV-C22, PSLV-C24 and PSLV-C26 in July 2013, April 2014 and October 2014 respectively. All the satellites are functioning satisfactorily from their designated orbital positions.
The IRNSS navigational system is regional, and targeted towards South Asia. The satellite will enable navigation, tracking and mapping services.
The next satellite, IRNSS-1E, is scheduled to be launched by PSLV. The entire IRNSS constellation of seven satellites is planned to be completed by 2016.
