The next pair of Galileo satellites, Galileo 5 and 6, were successfully delivered into orbit on 22nd August. This launch marked the start of a new phase in the European satellite navigation programme where the full constellation will be deployed with short intervals between launches.

Galileo 5 & 6 satellites were carried aloft on a Soyuz rocket from the CSG, Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana at 12:27 GMT (14:27 CEST, 09:27 local time) on 22nd August. All the stages of the Soyuz vehicle performed as planned, with the Fregat upper stage releasing the satellites into their target orbit close to 23,500 km altitude, 3 hours 47 minutes after lift-off.

Photo reproduced by kind permission of ESA ©