European Space Agency confirms Galileo navigation satellites failed to reach correct orbit following launch

(The satellites’ successful lift off – Photo Credit: ESA/Arianespace)

On August 22nd, a Soyuz VS09 rocket launched two Galileo navigation satellites from the European Space Agency’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The rocket was scheduled to propel the duo into medium-Earth orbit, however the ESA have now confirmed that an anomaly occurred during flight and the satellites were not inserted into their correct trajectories.