Now, two more are about to follow; on 12 October 2012 at 20:15 CEST, a Soyuz rocket will launch satellites three and four into their position in space.
Four satellites will then be flying in their orbits at an altitude of 23,000 kilometres.
For Walter Päffgen, Director of the DLR Space Applications Company (Gesellschaft für Raumfahrtanwendungen; GfR), this is a highpoint of the programme thus far: "With signals from four Galileo satellites, we can determine a location on Earth for the first time."
The satellites are controlled from the Galileo Control Centre at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) site in Oberpfaffenhofen.
To be well prepared for the next challenging phase of implementing the satellite navigation system, during the last few weeks his staff were put to the test with simulated failures during rehearsals for satellite operations.
"Everyone needs to be trained to respond quickly and safely in an emergency." Additional intensive training programmes were also part of the work of the crew in the control room.
The compatibility of the two satellites – named David and Sif after two children from the Czech Republic and Denmark – has also been tested at the Control Centre while they were on the ground.
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