12:20 - The second solar panel is deployed and the power system is operating nominally.

Congratulations to the SSTL, ESA, Starsem and everyone involved for making the mission a success!

9:06 - The satellite GIOVE-A has successfully separated from the Fregat and is communicating with SSTL ground control in Guildford, UK.

This initial step was crucial, validating the successful delivery of the satellite payload for the Galileo project. Good communications at this point are essential to complete the set up of the satellite.

Early communications also validated that the orbit is correct, although this will be known with greater precision in the next two weeks.

Now that the satellite has tested OK, the attitude control and communications teams in the busy mission control room are working to power the satellite. The satellite is launched with fully charged batteries, which are currently being used in combination with a small input from the un-deployed solar panels to power communications, heating and other electronic data processing such as control systems.

The batteries only store power for about 2 hours of operation, during which period the solar panels that will power the satellite must be deployed.

There is still work to be done. First, the satellite will measure its position relative to the sun, then it will find fix its position relative to the earth. Once the position is better known, the attitude control system helps orientate the satellite correctly so that communications equipment is Earth-pointing and the solar panels will be Sun-pointing.

The physical orientation of the satellite is carefully adjusted using wheels and butane thrusters on the satellite. Once the orientation is correct, the attitude control system ensures that the satellite is correctly oriented, slowly rotating as the satellite orbits the earth.

Finally, the solar panels will be deployed. This can only take place once the orientation is correct because the solar panels are very delicate and could be damaged if the satellite was still rotating with any speed. Because the solar panels are delicate, deployment is expected to take 10 – 15 minutes after which point the satellite can recharge its batteries and become fully operational.

11:48 - The first solar panel is successfully deployed!

Professor Sir Martin Sweeting heads Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL), a £ multi-million operation supplying advanced yet low cost micro/mini-satellite solutions to the space industry. Recognising a market requirement for affordable, fast response small spacecraft for civil and military applications, Sir Martin and his team at SSTL have reaped rich rewards by pioneering the use of ‘commercial-off-the-shelf’ (COTS) components, exploiting the latest developments stimulated by the consumer market. With annual sales approaching £25 million and delivering a profit of around £1M, the Company has become the world’s leading micro-satellite company.

Born in 1951, Sir Martin gained BSc and PhD degrees in Electronic Engineering at the University of Surrey before forming the University spin-off company, SSTL in 1985. Inspired by the challenge of converting their space technology research into a commercial operation, Sir Martin and a handful of academic researchers established a business leading the field in applying COTS components to the design, build and launch of sophisticated nano, micro and mini-satellites.

With 25 satellites already in orbit and a 26th scheduled for the end of the year, SSTL continues to supply systems to countries across the globe, including Algeria, France, Chile, China, Korea, Malaysia, Nigeria, Portugal, Thailand, Turkey and even the USA.

Last year Sir Martin was the driving force behind the formation of DMCii, a new company co-located with SSTL, specifically to exploit the imaging data generated by the Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) constellation of micro-satellites led by SSTL. The Company was formed to manage the image data from the DMC, monitoring natural and man-made disasters, such as mapping applications for displaced people, the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina and the Indian Ocean Tsunami. DMCii also manages the sale of data from the DMC satellites to commercial users – the Company has just completed its first year of trading and declared a profit.

As well as supporting the logistics of disaster relief, the DMC provides independent daily imaging capability to its partner nations; Algeria, Nigeria, Turkey, China and the UK. The DMC was conceived at SSTL in 1995 as an international partnership, and Sir Martin has been instrumental in maintaining a close relationship with the partner nations since then. Additionally, SSTL supplied all the 5 micro-satellites within the constellation and team training to the nations involved.

A leading authority in small satellite concepts and techniques, Sir Martin continues to stimulate research and development in his position as Director of the Surrey Space Centre (SSC). Working in conjunction with SSTL, SSC comprises a team of 50 faculty and doctoral staff, who provide a research and learning environment that is recognised for its excellence worldwide. Research at the SSC covers a wide range of space techniques, such as: solar thermal propulsion, martian helicopters, autonomous data management, novel attitude control algorithms and even satellite systems-on-a-chip.

Sir Martin has been recognised worldwide for his contribution to space technology. He is a member of several European space advisory committees and presents at many of the leading space technology forums, most recently at a Military Space Communications conference in London. In 1995 he was awarded an OBE, and in 2002 was knighted by HM Queen in the British New Year Honours for services to the small satellite industry.

Sir Martin sees applications for small satellites beyond Earth-oriented observation and communications. These will enable more affordable and frequent missions to explore the solar system planets and asteroids.

Source: SSTL Press release

At 5:18 this morning the tension was building at the University of Surrey as the the UK press, ESA members and Surrey Satellite Technology engineers were provided with a live video transmission of the GIOVE-A launch from Baikonur.

The clocks struck 5:19, igniting cheers from the crowd watching the Soyuz launch vehicle blast off. Cheers, that were mirrored at separate launch conferences in Paris and Moscow.

After the initial celebration, the audience scrutinised the images being beamed into the auditorium for any confirmation of a successful launch.

It was business as usual for the SSTL mission control team, although despite Professor Sir Martin Sweeting's jovial manner there was a shared rush of adrenalin and tension that Sir Martin himself admitted is reassuring. "All we can do is sit back and watch until it is our turn to take over, the Soyuz launch vehicle is the most reliable available but space flight an inherently dangerous business."

Next, the program coverage guided the captive audience to discussions with Starsem, responsible for the launch. The launch had been straightforward, with clear blue sky over Baikonur. Repeat statements of "all parameters nominal reassured all watching that the launch was progressing successfully and the 4 booster rockets used for the initial acceleration were shed 1:58 into the launch.

Next, after 4:13 the Fairing that was used to protect the nose of the rocket through the atmosphere was shed according to plan.

The repeat statements of "all parameters nominal" referring to the pitch, yaw and roll of the launch vehicle continued.

Flying over Russia and Siberia the launch vehicle entered into a ballistic trajectory pending further ignitions to re-orientate the Fregat and GIOVE-A composite into the required intermediate orbits. These intermediary orbits are required to gradually push the satellite into the final orbit required by the GIOVE-A Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element.

A proud Professor Chris Snowden, Vice Chancellor of the University of Surrey commented after the launch, "The award of this contract to SSTL is a classic example of how British industry can compete in a highly competitive international market by cooperating with a leading University.

"In the past, SSTL has benefited greatly from the Symbiotic relationship with the University, now the University in turn benefits from the reputation SSTL has earned through its ability to compete in the fiercely competitive international space technology market. This tandem relationship is the foundation, not just for economically viable higher education, but also for future UK business success."

Finally, the Fregat and satellite will drift slowly into the required orbit and separate. The independent satellite is to be initiated in just under half an hour at 9:01 GMT under the control of SSTL.