OHB's Main Galileo Production Run Awaits Testing of Initial Satellites

摘要

Satellite and rocket-component builder OHB AG on Aug. 14 said it should know by late September whether the tests of its first Galileo satellites are proceeding well enough to permit their delivery later this year. In a conference call with financial analysts, Bremen, Germany-based OHB said Galileo's European government owners want to take the necessary time to validate the performance of the first OHB-built satellites so that production of the 20 remaining spacecraft can be done quickly. The 20-nation European Space Agency (ESA) and the commission of the 28-nation European Union are the technical managers and owners, respectively, of the Galileo positioning, navigation and timing constellation. The first of the OHB-built satellites entered testing at ESA's European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, Netherlands, in May.