On November 17, 2016 at 13:06 UTC the “Ariane-5ES” rocket-carrier was launched from Kourou Cosmodrome in French Guiana. The rocket orbited 4 “Galileo” navigation satellites: Galileo-FOC FM07 (Antonianna), Galileo-FOC FM12 (Lisa), Galileo-FOC FM13 (Kimberley), Galileo-FOC FM14 (Tijmen). The four satellites were built in Germany with navigation payloads from Britain. The Galileo network will have 18 satellites once the new additions enter service next year after several months of tests and verifications, but the 14 spacecraft already in space should be enough for the European Commission to offer initial navigation services by the end of the year. Attachments: |