ESA procures four new Galileo Second Generation satellites, expanding the fleet to 16 spacecraft

The European Space Agency (ESA) has extended contracts with Thales Alenia Space and Airbus Defence and Space to build four additional Galileo Second Generation (G2) satellites. This expansion increases the planned G2 fleet to 16 spacecraft, safeguarding the continuity of Europe's satellite navigation services and strengthening its strategic autonomy. The new satellites are expected to be identical to those already in development, featuring fully digital navigation payloads, upgraded antennas, inter-satellite link capacity, and advanced atomic clock configurations to improve positioning, navigation, and timing performance.