Four new second-generation satellites for the Galileo fleet
ESA has extended the contracts to build four of them, which are due to be completed and launched by 2031. The contracts were signed in Rome and Ottobrunn in recent days
Key points
The second-generation Galileo satellite fleet is expanding. From 2031, it will grow from 12 to 16 satellites. The European Space Agency (ESA) has, in fact, extended the contracts to build four more satellites, which will be completed and launched by 2031.
Signing contracts
In recent days, contracts were signed in Rome and Ottobrunn, Germany, “awarded to the first-generation Galileo contractors Thales Alenia Space (Italia) and Airbus Defence and Space (Germany)”. These are the companies already under contract with the ESA to build six G2 satellites each. These are further building blocks for the programme managed and funded by the European Commission as part of the EU’s space programme.
The role of the ESA
According to Laurent Jaffart, ESA’s Director for Resilience, Navigation and Connectivity, thanks to the new contracts ‘ESA and European industry are safeguarding the continuity of European satellite navigation services, responding to users’ evolving needs and strengthening Europe’s strategic autonomy’. The four additional satellites, due for delivery in 2031 and to be launched shortly afterwards, “will be identical to those already under development”.
Satellites
“Equipped with fully digital navigation payloads, a higher-performance navigation antenna, inter-satellite link capability and an advanced atomic clock configuration – as highlighted by the ESA – the G2 satellites will provide more robust and reliable positioning, navigation and timing”.
Ongoing campaigns and tests
The first twelve G2 satellites have already been launched, with ‘development and qualification work nearing completion’. System integration and compatibility test campaigns are currently underway. Integration and flight testing are scheduled for 2027, whilst the first G2 launch is planned for 2028. Galileo, as highlighted by the ESA, is considered ‘the world’s most accurate satellite navigation system’ and its applications range from the rail and maritime sectors to agriculture, financial timing services and rescue operations.
