Rocket readied for 4 at once for Galileo

The first rocket to loft four global positioning satellites at once has begun its build-up at the European Space Agency’s Spaceport in French Guiana.  The milestone mission, scheduled for Nov. 17, will carry four Galileo satellites into orbit.

Ariane 5’s core stage is transferred for positioning over a mobile launch table inside the Spaceport’s Launcher Integration Building. Flight VA233 will carry four Galileo satellites.

This launcher  began the integration process with the cryogenic core stage’s positioning over a mobile launch pad, followed by integration of the vehicle’s two solid propellant boosters. Designated as Flight VA233, the Ariane 5 rocket is being assembled inside the Spaceport’s Launcher Integration Building. Once completed, it will be moved into the Final Assembly Building  for installation of the four Galileo spacecraft.

Arianespace already has orbited 14 Galileo spacecraft, all lofted in pairs on seven missions aboard the company’s medium-lift Soyuz launcher, with the most recent conducted last May.

For its maiden Ariane 5 mission at the service of Galileo, Arianespace’s workhorse heavy-lift vehicle will be equipped with a dispenser system that secures the quartet of Galileo satellites in place during ascent, and deploys them in rapid sequence at a targeted release altitude of 23,222 kilometers.

The four spacecraft were built by OHB System in Bremen, Germany, with their navigation payloads provided by Surrey Satellite Technology in the U.K.