Europe’s next two Galileo satellites have been attached to the dispenser on
which they will ride to orbit, and the launcher fairing that will protect
them during the first part of the ascent to orbit has been closed around the
pair.
Galileo satellites 27 – 28 are scheduled to be launched by Soyuz launcher
from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 2 December at 01:31 CET (1
December at 21:31:27 local Kourou time).
Their dispenser has the double duty of securing the two satellites safely in
place during the lift off and flight, then deploying the satellites into
their target orbit.
The combined satellites plus dispenser were then placed onto their Soyuz
Fregat upper stage, which has the job of hauling the pair most of the way up
to medium Earth-orbit, before being enclosed in their launch fairing.
The next step will see this combined ‘upper composite’ being taken to the
launch site for integration with the other three stages of their Soyuz
launcher, after the launcher is installed on the launch pad.
Bastiaan Willemse, ESA Galileo Full Operational Capability Satellites
Manager comments from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana: “So far,
everything has been going according to plan and we are heading towards the
ending of a smooth launch campaign, which started in early October.”
These first of a total of 12, Galileo ‘Batch-3’ satellites, manufactured by
OHB Systems and their suppliers from all across Europe.
The pair arrived from ESA’s ESTEC Test Centre to the integration
facility in French Guiana in early October, kicking off a busy launch
campaign, including initial dispenser ‘fit checks’, filling with the
hydrazine fuel that will be used to manoeuvre them during their 12 years of
working life and finalisation of their navigation system generation units
and uploading of security keys.
These satellites will add to the 26-satellite Galileo constellation already
in orbit and delivering Initial Services around the globe.
Next week’s lift-off will be the 11th Galileo launch in 10 years. Two
further launches are planned for next year, to allow Galileo to reach Full
Operational Capability in its delivery of services, to be followed by the
launches of the rest of the Batch 3 satellites which are currently all
undergoing pre-flight testing.
In parallel to Batch-3’s completion of Galileo First Generation deployment,
the new Galileo Second Generation satellites, featuring enhanced navigation
signals and capabilities, are already in development with their deployment
expected to begin by the end of 2024.
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