Galileo lifts off
Updated on 28 December 2005
The European Union has launched its first Galileo navigation satellite moving to challenge the United States' Global Positioning System (GPS).
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Russian space agency Roskosmos said the 600 kg (1,300 lb) satellite named Giove-A (Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element) went into its orbit 23,000 km from the earth after its launch on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur cosmodrome in the middle of Kazakhstan's steppe.
"The launch of Giove is the proof that Europe can deliver ambitious projects to the benefit of its citizens and companies," said EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot in a statement.
The $4.27bn Galileo programme, due to go into service in 2008 and eventually deploy 30 satellites,
may end Europe's reliance on the GPS and offer a commercial alternative to the GPS system run by the U.S. military.
"Radio-navigation based on Galileo will be a feature of
everyday life, helping to avoid traffic jams and tracking
dangerous cargos," Barrot said.
