Take off of Ariane 5 with 4 Galileo satellites on board

Kourou – An Ariane 5 rocket was launched Wednesday from Kourou in French Guiana, with four satellites on board for the European navigation system Galileo, AFP reported.
  

The shooting took place at 8:25 am Kourou time (13:25 Paris time, 11:25 GMT). The duration of the mission is 3 hours 56 minutes and 54 seconds.

Ariane 5 is responsible for placing these satellites – weighing 718 kg each – in a circular orbit at an altitude of nearly 23,000 km.

An emblematic project of the European Commission, the Galileo navigation system aims to compete with the US and Russian geolocation systems, while improving the services provided to users thanks to a very high precision and signal dating.

This navigation system will be useful in maritime, rail, air, land transport, rescue and rescue operations, agriculture or oil exploration.

In the event of a successful flight, the first round of launches will be completed with 26 satellites in orbit, one and a half years after the first services are put into service.

The first Galileo satellites were launched in 2011.

Several European figures have been shooting from the Kourou Space Center: European Commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska, French Research Minister Frédérique Vidal and Secretary of State to the ecological transition Sébastien Lecornu.

The European geolocation system, which will eventually include thirty satellites, will be fully deployed and operational in 2021.