Photo: When Galileo met Soyuz – Encapsulated Galileo satellites atop Soyuz

This is the moment when the twin Galileo satellites, safely encapsulated within their Upper Composite, were placed atop their Soyuz launcher. The historic mating occurred last Friday 14 October. The three-stage Soyuz ST-B had already been raised to the vertical on its launch pad. Then its mobile gantry was used to hoist the Upper Composite containing the satellites and Fregat-MT upper stage into position on top of the Soyuz.

This is the moment when the twin Galileo satellites, safely encapsulated within their Upper Composite, were placed atop their Soyuz launcher. The historic mating occurred last Friday 14 October. The three-stage Soyuz ST-B had already been raised to the vertical on its launch pad. Then its mobile gantry was used to hoist the Upper Composite containing the satellites and Fregat-MT upper stage into position on top of the Soyuz.