Galileo, Galileo: Four more satellites launched from spaceport site in French Guiana

Europe launched four more Galileo satellites yesterday, taking the number in orbit to 26 and moving a step closer to having its own navigation system, just as the programme has become the latest flashpoint in Brexit negotiations. The satellites, which will be part of the European Union’s alternative to the US Global Positioning System, or GPS, blasted off from Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana aboard an Ariane 5 rocket at 8.25am local time (1325 GMT), according to the European Spaceagency.thegalileosystem will eventually have a total of 30 satellites, weighing about 700 kg each.