Artist’s view of one of the first two FOC satellites

Artist’s view of one of the first two Full Operational Capability satellites (SAT 5-6).

The pair will be launched together aboard a Soyuz rocket, joining the four Galileo satellites already in orbit. The launch is set for summer 2014, from Europe’s Spaceport, French Guiana.

The definition, development and in-orbit validation phases of the Galileo programme were carried out by ESA and co-funded by ESA and the EU.