Quartet under the fairing

The Ariane 5 fairing is lowered into position over Galileo satellites 15, 16, 17 and 18 in preparation for their launch at 13:06 GMT (14:06 CET) on 17 November 2016, from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

The launch will mark the first time that ESA deploys four Galileo satellites in one go. Usually, shepherding a single satellite through the first critical days in orbit is a demanding enough task. A combined team in Toulouse, France, from ESA and France’s CNES space agency will make contact, establish control and then see the quartet of satellites through their initial activities.

Two further Ariane 5 Galileo flights are planned to follow over the next two years, one each for the constellation’s remaining orbital planes.