Communications

April 28th 2008
 
The Fucino Space Centre of Telespazio has managed the launch and early orbit phase and control of the satellite.
 
Finmeccanica, with Telespazio, Thales Alenia Space and SELEX GALILEO, is playing a leading role in the development of Europe's most important space programme.
 
GIOVE-B has been launched at 00.16 CET on 27 April from the Baikonur base in Kazakhstan. It is the second experimental satellite of the Galileo constellation, the satellite navigation and localisation programme of the European Space Agency and the European Union.
 
The Launch and Early Operation Phase (LEOP) and control of the satellite have been managed by Telespazio's Fucino Space Centre, where one of the control centres of the Galileo constellation and mission is under construction.
 
Some very important tests for the validation of the technology to be used on the 30 Galileo satellites will be carried out on board GIOVE-B, which was assembled in Italy and in the laboratories of Thales Alenia Space. The most accurate atomic clock ever used in space, made by SELEX GALILEO, will also be tested; this will provide a major contribution to the performance of the entire system.
 
Finmeccanica, with the joint ventures Telespazio and Thales Alenia Space (which together are part of the Space Alliance created in 2007 with Thales) and with SELEX GALILEO, is playing a leading role in the development of the Galileo programme, contributing with its technological excellence and know-how to the most important European space programme.
 
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