Second generation (G2) satellites for the European Galileo navigation system have been approved for the first 12 of the new fleet.
Two independent review boards have confirmed that the satellites meet mission and performance requirements, ESA said. The first board met in April to review the design from Thales Alenia Space. The second board met in May to review designs from Airbus Defence and Space.
ESA says the new G2 satellites will enhance positioning, navigation and timing capabilities. The G2 fleet will have two separate families of satellites, which will be developed at the same time.
In addition, the satellites will feature electric propulsion, digital navigation payloads, a more powerful navigation antenna and inter-satellite link capacity as well as an advance atomic clock.
ESA, which says planned G2 manufacturing is on schedule, has 30 first generation Galileo satellites in orbit. An additional eight are ready for launch, with two planned for September and six starting next year.
 satellites for the European Galileo navigation system have been approved for the first 12 of the new fleet.){kind=link}