spacetoday.net: Soyuz launches GIOVE-B

Posted: Sun, Apr 27, 2008, 12:04 PM ET (1604 GMT)
Soyuz launch of GIOVE-B (ESA)

A Soyuz rocket successfully launched early Sunday the second demonstration satellite for Europe's Galileo satellite navigation system. The Soyuz-Fregat rocket lifted off from Baikonur at 6:13 pm EDT Saturday (2213 GMT Saturday, 4:16 am local time Sunday) and placed the Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element B (GIOVE-B) satellite into a 23,200-kilometer, 56-degree orbit. The 500-kilogram spacecraft, built a European consortium led by EADS Astrium, is the second demonstration satellite for Galileo, and is designed to test key technologies that may be used on future operational Galileo satellites. The spacecraft has originally been planned for launch in 2006, but was delayed for two years by technical problems. A smaller Galileo demonstration satellite, GIOVE-A, was built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. and launched in late 2005 to reserve the frequencies that will be used by the operational system. Galileo is intended to be a competitor to the existing US GPS system and the Russian GLONASS system that is being replenished. Once intended to be a public-private partnership, Galileo is now a government-funded program; contracts for the satellites, launches, and related infrastructure will be let later this year.