It was meeting time for Doresa and Milena in the Centre Spatial Guyanais.

The two satellites, the 5th and the 6th of the Galileo constellation, were placed on the dispenser which will then be integrated on the Fregat launcher.

The two satellites, manufactured by the German company OHB, set a milestone in the Galileo history, as they mark the beginning of the deployement of the fully-fledged constellation of European Navigation satellites.

They are named after the kids who won a drawing competition in 2011.

The Galileo constellation, made of 24 satellites + 6 active spares, is expected to be fully-deployed by 2020. It will be, for some of its services, interoperable with currently exisiting similar systems.

(Picture : it starts with a date and will evolve into common life: Doresa and Milena now share the same seat. © Arianespace)