GPS developments: Galileo moves forward with successful Giove-B satellite launch - Broadcom targets AGPS in mobile phones and devices

摘要

The Giove-B (Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element) demonstrator and second test satellite for Europe's fledgling satellite navigation project, Galileo, has been successfully launched and deployed from the Baikonaur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The satellite was placed into a medium altitude orbit around the earth by a Soyuz/Fregat rocket operated by Starsem. Developed and manufactured by Astrium, the 500 kg satellite carries Galileo's key technologies into space for the first time, and is a seen as a key test for the overall system. Two years after the Giove-A mission, this latest satellite will continue the demonstration of critical technologies for the navigation payload of future operational Galileo satellites.