Two more Galileo satellites ready to launch

The creation a European version of the Global Positioning System (GPS) moves a step closer on Friday, with the launch of the ninth and tenth Galileo satellites.

Galileo-9 and -10 are due for launch on a Russian-made Soyuz rocket at 02:08 GMT from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

Project managers from the European Commission and the European Space Agency (ESA) hope Galileo will provide greater precision for satellite navigation systems, including in-car navigation devices and mobile phones, than the GPS system already used worldwide to pinpoint locations and plot routes.

Experts say tracking missing people or abductees is feasible only up to a point with current GPS, which generally does not work well indoors.

Commission officials say this is one area where the European system can out-do its competitors, touting the possibilities of Galileo’s precision ‘global search and rescue’ navigation. It should also give more accurate real-time information on the location of trains, buses and cars.

Two further satellites are scheduled for launch before the end of the year. One is under test at the ESA’s technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, while the other has already completed its checks and is awaiting shipping to Kourou in the second half of October.

The Prague-based programme, in which the EU is investing billions, saw the launch of its first two satellites in 2011, and further launches in 2012, 2014 and March this year.

Last year’s launch suffered a mishap, with satellites failing to go into the correct orbit. This was later corrected by Galileo’s ground operation, which pushed the satellites back into the correct altitude.

Completion of the 30-satellite Galileo system (24 operational and six active spares) is expected by 2020.