The launch window will open at 22.05 (UTC) and close at 23.14 (UTC).

The satellite, named ASTRA 5B, is co-hosting different payloads, amongst which the EGNOS GEO-2 (picture © ASTRIUM).

GEO-2 is a replacement satellite for the EGNOS constellation, and will ensure the continuity of the EGNOS services above Europe for another 15 years. It is equipped with new generation transponders, which will improve the navigation services above Europe. Together with the previous replenishment (SES 5), GEO-2 will support the new EGNOS generation (EGNOS V3) which provides dual-frequency signals on band L1 and L5.

EGNOS is owned by the European Commission and was launched in 2009 to be part of the Galileo global satellite navigation system. The European Space Agency designed EGNOS under a delegation agreement with the Commission.

EGNOS is the first pan-European satellite navigation system. Similar services are provided in North America by the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), in Japan by the Multifunctional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS) and in India by the GAGAN System. Other similar Satellite Based Augmentation Systems (SBAS) are under study or development in other regions of the world.

As from January 1^st, 2014, EGNOS is operated by the European GNSS Agency (GSA) based in Prague.