spacetoday.net: First Galileo satellite launched

Posted: Wed, Dec 28, 2005, 7:09 AM ET (1209 GMT)
GIOVE-A satellite illustration (ESA)

A Soyuz rocket launched the first satellite of Galileo, a European satellite navigation system, early Wednesday. The Soyuz-FG rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12:19 am EST (0519 GMT) Wednesday and placed the GIOVE-A satellite into a circular medium Earth orbit; the satellite separated from the Fregat upper stage three hours and 42 minutes after liftoff. GIOVE-A (Galileo In Orbit Validation Element A) is the first test satellite for the planned 30-satellite navigation system. The satellite, built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. in the UK, is intended to test key technologies planned for the operational system and put into use frequencies reserved for the system before a 2006 International Telecommunication Union deadline. A second test satellite, GIOVE-B, is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2006.