Europe orders eight more Galileo satellites

The European Commission on Friday issued a contract worth some US$330 million for eight more satellites for its Galileo satellite-navigation network, bringing the total number in production by a German-UK consortium to 22 and keeping the programme on track to be fully operational by the end of the decade.
March 19, 2012 Read time: 1 min

The 2465 European Commission on Friday issued a contract worth some US$330 million for eight more satellites for its Galileo satellite-navigation network, bringing the total number in production by a German-UK consortium to 22 and keeping the programme on track to be fully operational by the end of the decade.

So far, the project launched two in-orbit validation (IOV) satellites last October and plans to put another two validation satellites into orbit  this year to prove the system. The first of the 22 fully functioning satellites on order will be launched to provide planned initial satellite navigation services in 2014, with full global operation of the system by 2019, when the expected full 30-satellite constellation is in orbit.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Gritty decisions need Smart Modelling
    April 11, 2022
    Mark Fisher, principal strategic consultant with Amey Consulting, explains how its data-led Smart Winter modelling improved a UK local government’s winter gritting efficiency by 18%.
    Read More
  • Joining forces on safety'
    February 15, 2012
    The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) welcomed the launch of the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety, saying it will enable the European Union to join forces in tackling road safety at a global level. The UN move aims to reduce by 50% the projected increase in road deaths by 2020, and was developed with the support of the World Health Organisation (WHO), which predicts that road traffic injuries will rise to become the fifth leading cause of death by 2030 in the world. It demanded action to correct t
    Read More
  • Mexico introduces new professional roles to address road safety
    June 24, 2013
    *Ana Maria de la Parra introduces the new external road operation supervisors and fatal accident appraisers who could make a vital contribution to improving the efficiency and safety of highways in middle-income countries like Mexico. Sometimes it is difficult to pin down the perception of a country like Mexico in the popular international mindset. Visitors travelling to Mexico City for the first time are often amazed by its size. They are also frequently taken aback by how unexpectedly advanced it is in te
    Read More
  • Contracts are about to be signed for the Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link
    March 13, 2015
    Nearly eight years after Denmark and Germany agreed to construct a major undersea road and rail tunnel, the first contracts are about to be signed. David Arminas reports. Construction is due to start later this year on one of Europe’s most ambitious, as well as the world’s longest, road and rail tunnels, the 17.6km Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link between Germany and Denmark. Fehmarnbelt is expected to cost around US$7.5 billion and be five times the length of the Øresund tunnel between the Danish capital Copenhagen
    Read More

Highlighted Content