SPACE : NEXT GALILEO LAUNCH SET FOR JUNE THIS YEAR.

After years of delays, 2014 will be "pivotal" for the EU's Galileo satellite navigation programme, a competitor to the American GPS. Antonio Tajani, the commissioner in charge of the programme, announced this at a conference on European space policy, on 28 January in Brussels(1). Six new satellites are expected to be sent into orbit in 2014, which will bring the number of satellites in the Galileo constellation up to ten by the end of the year - enough to allow for the launch the programme's first services. "Galileo is now a reality," said Antonio Tajani.

The announcement was made after a meeting between the commissioner, the Director-General of the European Space Agency (ESA) Jean-Jacques Dordain, and CEOs from five large manufacturers taking part in the Galileo adventure (Arianespace, Telespazio, Thales Alenia Space, OHB and Airbus Space and Defence). During this gathering, it was confirmed that three launches (of two satellites) were set to be carried out in 2014, with the first one in June. The two satellites launched in June will have already successfully passed all the main tests. The four new ones in orbit will all be just as good. "The tests that were...