For the first time since 2018, two EU Galileo satellites were launched into space on board a European rocket.

The Ariane 6 took off from the Kourou space base in French Guiana at 2:01 a.m. (0501 GMT) on Wednesday morning.

Why is the Ariane 6 launch important for Europe?

The Ariane 6 expendable rocket only came into service last year, following the Ariane 5 that last carried a Galileo satellite in 2018.

Since then, the EU has been reliant on Russian — until the invasion of Ukraine — and US rockets.

The Galileo program itself is also a global navigation satellite system aimed at making the EU less dependent on the US's Global Positioning System (GPS).

The previous Galileo launch took place at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in September 2024, carried by Falcon 9 rockets belonging to Elon Musk's SpaceX.

German minister praises 'increased precision and resilience'

Wednesday's launch brings the total number of Galileo satellites in orbit to 24.

The addition of the two new satellites, which were set to arrive in orbit some four hours after lift-off, "will improve the robustness of the Galileo system by adding spares to the constellation to guarantee the system can provide 24/7 navigation to billions of users," the European Space Agency (ESA) said.

"The satellites will join the constellation in medium Earth orbit 23, 222 km (14,429 miles) above Earth's surface," it added.

German Research, Technology and Space Minister Dorothee Bär highlighted that both satellites had been built by the German company OHB.

"With the further expansion of the European Galileo system and today's launch of two more satellites, we are gaining increased precision and resilience," Bär said.

Edited by: Elizabeth Schumacher