July 27, 2015

Europe’s ninth and tenth Galileo satellites have crossed the Atlantic, touching down in French Guiana ahead of their joint launch this September.
The delicate navigation satellites made their journey within environmentally controlled containers, having passed a gamut of tests to confirm their readiness for space.
The pair left ESA’s ESTEC technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, last Thursday by road for to Luxembourg Findel Airport.
On Friday morning the duo flew by Luxair 747 aircraft to Cayenne–Félix Eboué Airport in French Guiana, touching down at around midday local time.
They were then taken by road to the Guiana Space Centre, before being unboxed within an air-conditioned cleanroom, marking the start of their launch campaign.
September’s launch on a Soyuz rocket will see Europe’s own satnav constellation reach double figures. These are Flight Models 5 and 6 of the Full Operational Capability version.
Two more satellites are still at ESTEC, midway through being tested. Fourteen more are being built at OHB in Bremen, Germany, with their navigation payloads coming from Surrey Space Satellite Technology in Guildford, UK, and parts supplied from across Europe.

Image:
(Left) Galileo satellite.
(Middle) Galileos unloaded.
(Right) Arriving at space centre.