Galileo Navigation Constellation Grows to 30 Satellites
Galileo Navigation Constellation Grows to 30 Satellites
Two Additional Spacecraft Launched from Florida Late Saturday Night
Over the weekend, two more European Galileo navigation satellites were launched into space. In parallel, work on the second generation of Galileo satellites is already underway on Earth. Beyond Gravity (formerly RUAG Space) delivers key products like thermal insulation, mechanisms, and structures to the next generation of European navigation satellites.
“Galileo is currently the world’s most precise satellite-based navigation system. Beyond Gravity plays a key role in this project.”
Oliver Grassmann, Beyond Graviy
On Sunday morning, 28 April, (European time), two further satellites were launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida, bringing the total number of Europe’s Galileo navigation satellites in orbit to 30. In parallel, work is underway on the next generation of Galileo. The first of a further 12 Galileo Second Generation satellites are due to be launched from 2025 onwards. Six of these satellites are being produced by the satellite manufacturer Airbus (Germany), while the other six are being built by Thales Alenia Space (Italy). “Galileo is currently the world’s most precise satellite-based navigation system. Beyond Gravity plays a key role in this project, supplying key products to both satellite builders of the second generation of navigation satellites," said Oliver Grassmann, EVP Satellites at Beyond Gravity.
For all six satellites built by Airbus, Beyond Gravity, a leading space supplier based in Zurich, Switzerland, will supply the structure (“backbone”) and thermal insulation. The structure is being built in Zurich and serves as the chassis of the satellite. The thermal insulation is being built in Austria and will protect the navigation satellites from the plus/minus 200 degrees Celsius temperatures in space and keep them at a constant room temperature. Beyond Gravity also supplies to Airbus the solar array drive mechanisms, which point the solar arrays of the Galileo satellites in the right direction to ensure that the satellite and its payload, especially the atomic clocks, have the right amount of electric power they are requesting.
For the six navigation satellites built by Thales Alenia Space, Beyond Gravity’s site in Austria is supplying a total of twelve mechanisms for gimbaling the electric thrusters. The electric power thrusters are needed to bring the satellites to their desired Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) altitude and orbit after the Launcher releases them at 6,000 km, or just more than 3,700 miles, nominal altitude.
For the six Galileo satellites from Thales, Beyond Gravity’s site in Vienna, Austria, produces control electronics for the antenna mechanisms that establish direct communication between the Galileo satellites.
At the Beyond Gravity site in Linköping, Sweden, the company designs and produces the launch adapter, which connects the Galileo satellites to the launch vehicle. Along with the according release mechanism from Beyond Gravity the adapter places the Galileo satellites into space.