Galileo

OHB partnered with Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. for the current Galileo satellite contract, with Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. providing the navigation payload.

OHB has an ongoing contract to provide 34 Galileo satellites, of which 22 have been delivered and the remaining 12 are in various stages of production.

Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space will each build six second-generation Galileo satellites under contracts to be formally signed at the end of January.

Galileo has been in operation since 2016 and provides signal services to 2 billion users around the globe.

The European Commission launched the tender procedure in May 2018 to procure a first batch of 12 second-generation Galileo satellites through a competitive dialogue.

OHB System AG built the first in-orbit validation Galileo satellite and subsequently built 38 Galileo satellites, of which 26 are now in orbit.

The European Commission awarded two contracts for 12 second-generation Galileo satellites to Thales Alenia Space (Italy) and Airbus Defence & Space (Germany) for a total of EUR 1.47 billion.

OHB built 34 Galileo navigation satellites that operate in medium Earth orbit.

GNOMES-2 acquires 2,500 daily radio occultation soundings using a large-aperture antenna that tracks GPS, Galileo, Glonass, and Beidou constellations.

Arianespace will launch two Galileo navigation satellites from Kourou in French Guiana aboard a Soyuz rocket on Thursday, 2021-12-02 (CET).

Two Galileo navigation satellites will be launched from Kourou in French Guiana aboard a Soyuz rocket on Thursday, 2021-12-02 (CET).

The 2021-12-02 launch will raise the number of Galileo satellites in orbit from 26 to 28.

In 2010 SSTL was awarded a contract to assemble, integrate, and test the first navigation payloads for the full operational capability Galileo spacecraft.

Prior to VS26, 14 of the 26 Galileo satellites already in orbit had been launched by Soyuz between 2011 and 2016, and 12 had been launched by Ariane 5 between 2016 and 2018.

Galileo Second Generation satellites featuring enhanced navigation signals and capabilities are in development with deployment expected to begin by 2024.

The Galileo satellites are built by prime contractor OHB System, with payloads supplied by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL), an Airbus Defence and Space subsidiary.

Galileo has been providing initial services since 2016.

Telespazio, part of the joint venture Spaceopal with German space agency DLR that manages Galileo Control Centres, projects a 10-day transfer from launch to the payloads’ final orbit at 23,222 km.

Arianespace launched two satellites for Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation system on 2021-12-04.

Airbus Defense and Space and Thales Alenia Space will build an initial set of next-generation Galileo satellites that aim to start launching in 2024.