GIOVE-B succesfully launched

Giove-B launch was succesfull. The full report of the mission can be found on the ESA website.

The GIOVE-B satellite was lofted into a medium altitude orbit around the earth by a Soyuz/Fregat rocket departing from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan by launch operator Starsem. Lift-off occurred at 04:16 local time on 27 April (00:16 Central European Summer Time). The Fregat upper stage performed a series of manoeuvres to reach a circular orbit at an altitude of about 23 200 km, inclined at 56 degrees to the Equator, before safely delivering the satellite into orbit some 3 hours and 45 minutes later. The two solar panels that generate electricity to power the spacecraft deployed correctly and were fully operational by 05:28 CEST.

We look forward now to the switch on of the payload, when finally we will have available a signal-in-space very close to the final Galileo signal to test.

GIOVE-B launch: another step for Galileo

Today we will have evidence that the Galileo programme is actually progressing. After stops, delays, doubts and concerns the day for the 2nd Galileo Satellite has come: GIOVE-B will be launched tonight.


Beginning at 23:35 CEST on Saturday night, ESA will be providing live video coverage of the final preparations, lift off and climb out of the Soyuz launcher from Baikonur via the GIOVE-B website.

The second test satellite hosts a new on-board clock and provide a signal matching the Galileo signal speciications; I am sure this will create many opportunities for research and new results, hopefully boosting again the interest towards Galileo.

Toulouse Space Show - day 4 -NavSAS leaves a sign

The ENC conference is finished, and we are back home after a busy week.

However this last day has been outstanding for the NavSAS group.

In fact, Riccardo Lesca won the best presentation award for his paper.

The technical committee gave 3 awards (1 per day) and Riccardo's presentation was on Wednesday, the most crowded day, with many sessions running in parallel both during the morning and the afternoon. Congratulations Riccardo !

Here is the video of the award ceremony

This success of Riccardo must be counted also as a success of the specializing Master on Navigation and Related Applications taken by Riccardo during the first edition.
Six former students of the Master were attending the ENC conference: Tung Hai Ta, currently getting a Ph.D with the NavSAS at Politecnico, Giovanni Vecchione, working for GMV, Andrea Samperi working for Sofiter as a consultant for Thales Alenia Space, Federico Giuntini, working for the VEGA group on the Giove-B system segment, and Soumaya Zariri, currently gettting a Ph.D from Montbeliard University. We can only be happy that our students are fully exploiting the knowledge acquired dring the Master for contributing to the development of GNSS !

Next year the ENC conference will be hosted in Naples, at the Parthenope University. Let's keep our finger crossed that Italy can offer a high quality conference as the one we attended this year.