The Ariane 6 launch vehicle successfully lifted off, deploying two Galileo navigation satellites belonging to the European Space Agency. The launch occurred on Wednesday, December 17, at 07:01 Kyiv time from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana.
The satellites are expected to reach an orbit at an altitude of 23,222 kilometers approximately 3 hours and 20 minutes after takeoff. Over the next three days, solar panel deployment and critical system checks will be conducted.
Following this, the two satellites will enter a four-month positioning phase before settling into their final orbital positions, joining 26 similar active satellites in the Galileo constellation.
This marks the fifth mission for the Ariane 6 rocket in the past year, with the previous launch occurring just over a month ago.
Additionally, China launched a new Earth remote sensing satellite named “Ziyuan-3-04,” designed for geodetic mapping and environmental monitoring.