(Belgium) After three consecutive nights of delay, the Soyuz VS26 launch vehicle took off from the Space Center of Guiana (CSG) in French Guiana on Saturday at 21:19 (13:19), AFP reported.
The fire window was used even though it rained on this French land in South America for several days. Filming was originally scheduled for December 1, and filming was postponed twice for weather reasons and once because “there is no telemetry station available.” , according to CSG connection. Soyuz, Guyana’s only satellite launched in 2021, carries two satellites from the European navigation system Galileo. After launch, you will have access to 28 components of this constellation, capable of giving positions of the order of one meter. Of the existing satellites, 14 were launched by a Russian launch vehicle between 2011 and 2016, and 12 were launched from Ariane 5 between 2016 and 2018. Ultimately, the constellation will include 30 satellites and will cost Europe about eight billion euros. Starting in 2024, a new generation of Galileo satellites will be launched, which will continue to compete with the US GPS system. This photo is also full of symbolism from 2021, the 10th anniversary of the Union’s presence in Guyana. Since 2011, the year of the first launch (which was also postponed), 26 such launchers have taken off from Sinamare, a town near Kourou, where a Soyuz launch pad was installed. The mission, carried out by the European Space Agency (ESA) on behalf of the European Commission, is the penultimate mission since the CWG 2021. On December 22, the Ariane 5 rocket will carry the James Webb Telescope into space, from where it will provide scientists with information about the formation of the universe. (Belgian)
