Galileo update

Four more Galileo satellites launch scheduled for July 25

Four more Galileo satellites will be launched on a customized Ariane 5 on July 25.

The next Arianespace rocket to orbit Galileo satellites has begun taking shape at the spaceport in French Guiana. Build-up of the heavy-lift vehicle is now underway inside the spaceport’s Launcher Integration Building.

Once the Ariane 5’s basic build-up is completed under the direction of production prime contractor ArianeGroup, it will be moved to the spaceport’s Final Assembly Building for installation of its four Galileo FOC (Full Operational Capability) satellite passengers, which are undergoing their own preflight preparations at the spaceport.

The Ariane 5 will deploy its satellite passengers at a targeted orbital altitude of 23,222 kilometers in circular medium Earth orbit. The launch is designated Flight VA244 by Arianespace.

In early June, Galileo satellites 25 and 26 landed at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, joining their two predecessors, satellites 23 and 24, according to the European Space Agency (ESA).

Britain can have access to Galileo after May’s threats

Britain could access the European Union’s Galileo satellite navigation system after Brexit but will no longer be able to work on developing the project, the bloc’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said recently.

Britain’s Brexit Secretary David Davis said earlier, that Britain had been instrumental in developing Galileo’s technology, and blocking it at this stage would delay the project by up to three years and increase the bill by £1billion ($1.2 billion).

Mr Barnier told reporters, referring to the Galileo Public Regulated Service: “The rules as they are today, a third country cannot take part in the development of the PRS signal.”

He added the issue should be addressed “in the framework of our future strategic partnership with the UK”.

When asked if that meant Britain could not take part in the project’s development, however, he said: “Not development. It is a unanimous decision of the 28. “The facts have consequences.”

Mr Barnier has previously been clear the UK would lose access to Galileo’s PRS service – an encrypted service used by EU member states’ militaries and emergency services.

Theresa May blasted the EU has been taking Britain “for a fool” over the situation.

Speaking to Andrew Marr at the weekend, the Prime Mnister said: “Let’s just look at Galileo. The UK has been contributing significantly to the Galileo programme so far

“Yes, the EU are saying that in the future, they don’t think that not as a member of the EU, we will be able to continue to contribute and have the access as a member of the EU. www.express.co.uk