Europe Launches Two Galileo Satellites to Cut Reliance on GPS

Europe’s Galileo global navigation system will launch its first two satellites tomorrow as part of a project that will require an extra 7 billion euros ($9.6 billion) to continue running until the end of the decade.

The satellites will ride a Russian rocket to be launched from a space port in Kourou, French Guiana to an altitude of 23,600 kilometers (14,667 miles), according to the European Commission. While 4.5 billion euros have been allocated to develop and build the system for the period ending in 2013, another 7 billion euros will be needed for the budget cycle through 2020 to finish building the system and keep it operating, said Ingrid Godkin, an official at the commission.