Giove – standing for ‘Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element’ – is the name that has been chosen for the two satellites which are currently being prepared to take the first step of the In-Orbit Validation phase towards full deployment of Galileo, the European satellite navigation system.
The name Giove was announced by Ms Karla Peijs, the Dutch Minister of Transport, Public Works & Water Management, on Wednesday 9 November, at ESA’s ESTEC centre in Noordwijk (The Netherlands).
The first of the two satellites, Giove A, was presented to the media while undergoing final preparations at the ESTEC test facilities prior to being sent to the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, from where it will be launched by a Soyuz rocket at the end of December 2005. The second, GIOVE B, will be launched later in 2006, also from Baikonurv.
Giove and its four successors will pave the way for the deployment of the complete Galileo constellation of 30 satellites. This will provide unprecedented satellite positioning, navigation and timing capabilities in the 21st Century.
Dutch Minister Karla Peijs presents Giove A
Source: ESA
