MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russian carrier rocket Soyuz-ST with two EU satellites aboard was successfully launched from Kourou space centre in French Guyana on Saturday, Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos told RIA Novosti.
“The launch took place at 12.46 p.m. [9:45 GMT],” Roscosmos spokesperson said.
27 February 2015, 11:04 GMT
The satellites are sent to the orbit under the EU Galileo program, which aims to create a global satellite navigation system alongside existing US Global Positioning System (GPS) and Russian Glonass.
In August 2014, Galileo's Full Operational Capability satellites were first launched in Kourou. However, the satellites were put on a lower orbit than expected.
By 2020, a total of 30 Galileo satellites are expected to be placed into orbit, with each of them worth about 40 million Euros ($43.6 million).
