The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
Go to topic
On 12 October 2012 the third and fourth satellites of the Galileo constellation will be launched aboard a Soyuz rocket from Europe's Spaceport, French Guiana.
This will mark the final step of the In Orbit Validation (IOV) phase for Galileo, the European positioning and navigation system.
The Full Operational Capability (FOC) phase of the Galileo programme will follow with the deployment of 30 satellites for a complete system, with the first Galileo services available to users in a couple of years.
While preparing Galileo, Europe already provides navigation services with EGNOS, the European Geostationnary Navigation Overlay System mainly dedicated to Air traffic Management.
This story explains the different services to be provided and supported by Galileo. It includes an interview in English, French and Spanish with Javier Benedicto, ESA Galileo Programme manager.