EU launches second test satellite for Galileo

The European Union launched Giove-B, the second (and last) test satellite in its $5.3 billion Galileo project, on Sunday, according to Reuters.

The first test satellite, Giove-A was launched in December 2005. Giove-B will test the program's high-precision atomic clock and signal transmission, said Reuters.

Galileo is Europe's upcoming satellite radio navigation system, and it's the EU's largest space program. Galileo will eventually become an ultra-precise system of 30 satellites, but it has hit a few bumps along the way.
Galileo



The fully deployed Galileo system planned will consist of 30 satellites, positioned in three circular Medium Earth Orbit planes.
(Credit: European Space Agency)

First off, the project's launch date has been pushed back several times from the original goal of 2008 to the current goal of 2013. And unlike the United States' Global Positioning System, which was designed primarily as a military system with a free public side to it, Galileo was initially conceived of as a largely commercial venture. But the project proved too ambitious to be sustained by the original public-private partnership. After some companies pulled out of the project, the EU voted to put more public funding toward it. Now, even that support isn't guaranteed. Fears that the project might spiral out of financial control prompted some U.K. lawmakers last November to call for a complete review of the U.K.'s involvement in the program.

Uncertainty about when Galileo will actually be up and running and how effective ... Read more
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