ESA orders four more Galileo G2 satellites for 2031, and the first of the generation has not launched yet

The first second-generation Galileo satellite has not launched yet. ESA has announced it is ordering four more, for delivery in 2031.

The generation is still in testing. ESA says the first 12 G2 satellites are well under way: development and qualification are approaching completion, and integration and compatibility testing campaigns are in full swing. Integration and flight testing of the first satellites is planned for 2027, the first G2 launch for 2028.

ESA is ordering four copies of a satellite that has not flown yet.

The four new ones are not a new design. ESA describes them as identical to those already under development. Same two firms. Two satellites each, on extended contracts. The aim, according to ESA, is to keep the constellation going without a gap for the long term.

The new satellites will join the 38 first-generation ones, all but four of which have already launched, and ESA says the two generations will work together. ESA's Director of Resilience, Navigation and Connectivity, Laurent Jaffart, calls the contracts an investment in Europe's ability to navigate its own future, independently and with confidence.

Galileo is not a distant topic: ESA says every smartphone sold in the European Single Market is guaranteed to be Galileo-enabled. If your phone was bought in the EU, it can receive the signal. The announcement has two dates: 2028 for the first G2 in orbit and 2031 for delivery of the new four. The second rests on the first.

The visual is generated code-art, no third-party images.