Page 27 - Italy In Space

Positioning, navigation and timing [4]

October 12, 2012. IOV-3 and IOV-4 satellites of the future Galileo constellation are put in orbit, after a
fully successful launch from Kourou. With four operational satellites in orbit, it was possible to
complete the In Orbit Validation (IOV) and confirm the performance expected from the system, being
four the minimum number of satellites required to determine a position. Commemorative cover
postmarked on the day of launch with standard Kourou manual cancel.

22 Aug. 2014
The first two FOC (Full Operational Capability) Galileo satellites, are launched from Kourou. They
are placed on incorrect orbits because of a problem of the Soyuz-Fregat launcher. After repeated
corrective maneuvers, their orbits are eventually at least partially corrected,

26