DARMSTADT, Germany - Despite the non-nominal orbit of ESA's two Galileo satellites launched on August 22, the satellites are safely under control after they were released from the launcher upper stage and their orbital position was determined by the European ground teams deployed at ESOC in Darmstadt, Germany.
Controllers there, in cooperation with the satellite manufacturer OHB, confirm the good health and the nominal behavior of both satellites. A procedure to deploy the solar arrays that had remained partially folded on both satellites was successfully executed on the first satellite in the course of Monday night. A similar procedure will be executed soon on the second satellite.
Both satellites continue to be kept in a safe state, correctly pointing to the Sun, properly powered and fully under control of the ESA/CNES integrated team and the teams of OHB deployed at ESA's control center
In parallel, the teams are investigating the possibilities to exploit the satellites to their best despite the non-nominal injection orbit and within the limited propulsion capabilities of the satellites.
The two Galileo satellites failed to achieve their planned orbit after an anomaly with the Fregat upper stage on the Soyuz launch vehicle carrying the satellites. The possible loss of the satellites could be a big blow for ESA and the EU, which have spent years planning and developing the Galileo constellation. After numerous delays, the first two operational satellites finally launched on August 22. With the two satellites in a non-nominal orbit, ESA may be forced to order two replacement satellites.
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