France gives for lost the first two Galileo satellites – The Vanguard

Paris. (Efe) .- The first two satellites Operating the European navigation system geospatial Galileo , located in the wrong orbit, will not serve the purpose for which they had been released, according to the French representative on the project and president of the National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) of France, Jean-Yves Le Gall.

While the European Space Agency (ESA) is cautious about using these two devices, positioned last Friday in a wrong orbit and with whom you have contact from Earth, Le Gall was more specific when used to indicate that no system with satnav that Europe wants to compete with the GPS United States.

“Do not be recoverable (for navigation) because its orbit is not circular as it should have been and therefore are not in good standing in an orbital plane. shall not, therefore, serve the Galileo mission, “said exastronauta in an interview published today in the journal Usine Nouvelle .

Le Gall said, though, Doresa and Milena , the name of the two satellites, may serve to “make orbit test and validate its operation.” The head of the French space center said that “the consequences” of this error “be limited”, although it may cause a delay in the following shipments satellites of the Galileo constellation.

To do this, he said, must as soon as possible to be aware of the reasons for failure, to continue immediately with the launcher, which provides a new one in December. Galileo provides consist of 24 satellites, of which six are spare recalled Le Gall.

A is ahead of the first conclusions of the commission of inquiry set up to analyze this error, scheduled for next 8th, Le Gall, who for years chaired the consortium Arianespace space launch, answerable, issued its first hypothesis.

“Chances are that dysfunction occurred on the fourth floor of the Soyuz, He called Fregat, placing satellites in its final orbit after two consecutive drives. For an unknown reason, the second pulse did not occur in the right direction, “he said.

Le Gall said the Russian rocket Soyuz is not to blame for the error, but the Fregat system, conceived jointly by Russian and European. The president of CNES it comes “from a production error” that may be linked to the problems facing the Russian space industry in recent years. “The commission of inquiry should determine whether it is a scheduled item or wrong faulty equipment,” he said.