Europe orders eight more Galileo satellites

The 2465 European Commission on Friday issued a contract worth some US$330 million for eight more satellites for its Galileo satellite-navigation network, bringing the total number in production by a German-UK consortium to 22 and keeping the programme on track to be fully operational by the end of the decade.

So far, the project launched two in-orbit validation (IOV) satellites last October and plans to put another two validation satellites into orbit  this year to prove the system. The first of the 22 fully functioning satellites on order will be launched to provide planned initial satellite navigation services in 2014, with full global operation of the system by 2019, when the expected full 30-satellite constellation is in orbit.