On December 17, 2025 at 2:01 a.m. local time (5:01 a.m. UTC, 6:01 a.m. CET), Arianespace successfully launched the pair of satellites, Galileo L14 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

The mission, called VA266, was the fifth flight of Ariane 6, Europe’s heavy-lift launcher. It was performed with an Ariane 6 with two boosters, the Ariane 62, which has been successful since its inaugural flight in 2024.

The satellites designated SAT 33 and SAT 34 were placed into a medium Earth orbit at an altitude of approximately 22 922 km. Their separation occurred 3 hours and 55 minutes after lift-off.

David Cavaillolès, CEO of Arianespace stated: “As the first launch of Ariane 6 for the Galileo program, the launcher, which perfectly placed the Galileo SAT 33 and SAT 34 satellites into orbit, once again demonstrates its reliability and precision. This success strengthens the performance and resilience of Europe’s own navigation system, delivering concrete benefits to billions of users worldwide. Our teams have once again demonstrated operational excellence, and we thank ESA, the European Commission and the EUSPA for their renewed trust. ”

 “High precision, reliability, versatility, modularity: this is Ariane 6 signature. With five successful flights in less than 18 months, Ariane 6 is performing the fastest entry into service for a heavy launcher”, commented Martin Sion, CEO of ArianeGroup. “ArianeGroup teams are committed to deliver on the next steps of the production ramp-up in 2026, hand in hand with all our industrial partners across Europe” added Martin Sion.

Ariane 6 once again demonstrates its versatility with a new payload configuration specifically designed for a Galileo-type mission. For the needs of this mission, the upper part of the launcher has been fully adapted by ArianeGroup. It consists of a short fairing, a light launch vehicle adaptor (LVA) used for the first time on an Ariane 6 flight, as well as a dispenser specific to the Galileo missions allowing a lateral attachment of the two satellites.

Galileo is a flagship component of the EU Space Programme. Owned by the European Union, it is under the management of the European Commission. It delivers best-in-class performance for real-time positioning accuracy worldwide, down to the meter range. It also offers innovative capabilities for professional users, such as authentication of signals and high-accuracy services, along with additional dedicated governmental services. Since its inception, ESA has been leading the design, development and qualification of the space and ground systems, as well as procuring launches. The EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) acts as the service provider, overseeing the market and application needs and closing the loop with users.

The VA266 launch at a glance:

• 358^th launch by Arianespace
• 5^th Ariane 6 launch
• 7th launch operated by Arianespace in 2025 (4 launches with Ariane 6 and 3 launches with Vega C)
• 12^th Galileo mission by Arianespace
• 41^st and 42^nd spacecraft built by OHB launched by Arianespace

Source: Arianespace