NEW YORK: Europe has hoisted two satellites into space as it pushes to get its beleaguered Galileo satnav program back on track.
Orbiters nine and 10 have been launched from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guyana, – bringing the satellite navigation system a third of the way to full deployment.
The project, a rival to America’s GPS for navigation and search-and-rescue services, will ultimately sport 30 satellites, including six spares.
But it has been plagued by delays, technical glitches and budget issues that have called into question whether it will meet its deadline to start working next year.
Scientists won’t know until hours after the launch whether the satellites were placed in the correct orbit around Earth.
In August 2014, satellites five and six were sent into a lopsided, elliptical trajectory.
The pair have since been manoeuvred into a more circular path, and are expected to be able to function with the rest of the constellation by next year.
‘We should have (these) two satellites broadcasting navigation messages at almost the same (level) as the others at the very beginning of 2016,’ Galileo program director Didier Faivre of the European Space Agency (ESA) told reporters.
The European Commission, which finances the project, aims to have 16 satellites in orbit by the end of 2016 to start providing initial satnav services, including applications for smartphones, in-car navigation and search-and-rescue location.
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