Galileo IOV launch services contract signed
At the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget on 16 June 2009, ESA and Arianespace signed a contract for the launch of the first four operational Galileo satellites. The Galileo In-Orbit Validation (IOV) Launch Services Contract covers the launch of the first four operational Galileo satellites using two Soyuz launch vehicles that will lift off from the Guiana Space Centre (Centre Spatial Guyanais – CSG), Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.
According to ESA, the signature of the IOV Launch Services Contract marks an important milestone for the Galileo programme as it progresses towards the operational deployment of the satellites of the Galileo satellite navigation system (see www.esa.int).