Since 2011, Europe has been building a world-class satellite navigation system, serving billions of users worldwide. Today, the Galileo constellation counts over 30 satellites in orbit, fully occupying all slots across its three orbital planes, with two spare satellites per plane for added resilience.
On 17 December, two Galileo satellites will be launched on Ariane 6, marking the 14th operational launch of the Galileo programme. This is the first of three Ariane 6 that will deliver the final six first-generation Galileo satellites, further strengthening the system’s robustness.
For the this launch, the European Space Agency is responsible for carrying out the Galileo launch with Arianespace. The Galileo programme is managed by the European Commission under the EU Space programme. Once in orbit, the EU Agency for the Space Programme will bring the satellites into service and oversee their operation.