Flight VA266: Ariane 6 Ready to Launch Two New Galileo Satellites

On 17 December 2025 at 02:01 local time in Kourou (05:01 UTC, 06:01 CET), Arianespace is scheduled to launch a pair of Galileo L14 satellites aboard Ariane 6 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

Mission VA266 – the fourth commercial flight of Europe’s heavy-lift launcher – will place satellites SAT 33 and SAT 34 into Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at an altitude of 22,922 km. Spacecraft separation will occur three hours and 55 minutes after lift-off.

This mission marks the 14^th operational launch of the Galileo programme (Galileo L14). The two satellites will join the constellation of first-generation Galileo satellites already in orbit, thereby further enhancing the precision, availability and robustness of Europe’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). The launch is being carried out for the European Space Agency (ESA) on behalf of the European Commission and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA).

Galileo delivers real-time, meter-level positioning accuracy worldwide. The system also offers cutting-edge capabilities for professional users, including signal authentication and high-accuracy services, along with additional features tailored to governmental customers.

The launcher will lift off at:

• 02:01 local time in Kourou
• 06:01 Paris/Berlin time
• 00:01 Washington D.C. time
• 05:01 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC),
• 14:01 Tokyo time