Galileo satellite constellation grows to 28 satellites
- Location
- EU-wide system operation; launch from Kourou Spaceport, French Guiana · 🇪🇺 Europe
- Project
- European satellite navigation system Galileo – constellation expansion
- Investment
- Not quantified for this specific launch; overall EU Galileo/EGNOS programme budget 2021–2027 approx. EUR 8.0 billion per Wikipedia
- Status
- Operational – constellation being expanded (28 of planned 30 satellites)
On 5 December 2021, a Soyuz rocket launched from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana placed Galileo satellites No. 27 and 28 into orbit, expanding the European satellite navigation system's constellation to 28 satellites. According to ESA, Galileo has been in its operational phase since 2016 and serves more than 2.3 billion users worldwide with positioning data. Full completion ("Full Operational Capability") with 30 satellites was originally planned for 2021 but, per German Wikipedia, has been delayed to at least 2026 — so full operational status as of end-2021 is not substantiated.
Source: esa.int ↗ · Archived copy ↗
Evidence: one source · based on reports (not independently confirmed) · archived copy saved · How well sourced is Eurotrack?
More from: 🇪🇺 EU / Europe