SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket puts two Galileo satellites into orbit Boosting EU navigation system

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket achieved a notable milestone by successfully placing two European Galileo navigation satellites into orbit, according to the carrier developer.

"The orbital insertion of the Galileo L13 mission has been confirmed," SpaceX announced on X, per Caliber.Az.

Falcon 9 launches our 90th mission of the year pic.twitter.com/Xo4b1ZJiQT

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 18, 2024

The launch took place on September 17 at 6:50 PM US East Coast time from Launch Complex 40 at the US Space Force Base in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Approximately three and a half hours later, the satellites reached their designated orbit.

The Galileo FOC FM26 and FM32 satellites, now positioned at an altitude of 23,000 kilometres, are part of the European Union and European Space Agency's (ESA) global navigation constellation, which has been under development since 2016. These satellites offer positioning data with an accuracy of up to one meter.

The €10 billion Galileo program aims to establish a high-precision navigation system independent of the US GPS network.

Additionally, the first reusable stage of the Falcon 9 rocket, marking its 22nd flight, successfully executed a controlled landing on the Just Read the Instructions drone platform in the Atlantic Ocean after separation.

by Tamilla Hasanova