A pair of constellation navigation satellites were launched on their way to their final Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) position by a Soyuz ST-B/Fregat MT launch vehicle from the Sinnamary launch site, near Kourou in French Guiana. The launch of Galileo FOC FM-07 (Galileosat 11) and FM-08 (Galileosat 12) took place at 1153 GMT on 17 December 2015. Both satellites were built by OHB-System GmbH using a satellite bus built by the UK-based Surrey Satellite Technology Limited – a subsidiary of Airbus Defence and Space.
After the Fregat MT’s initial burn to put the satellites into a transfer orbit, the upper stage made a second burn about three hours later to place the satellites into a circular Medium Earth orbit at 23.500km altitude with an inclination of nearly 55 degrees relative to the equatorial plane.
