Photos: Galileo's phase two goes into orbit

The Giove-B satellite arrived at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 13 March 2007 after being carried by this Antonov cargo plane.

Photo credit: ESA

After its delivery in Kazakhstan, the satellite was prepared for its launch at the Starsem payload preparation facility in Baikonur.

Photo credit: ESA

The Soyuz-Fregat rocket is carried to its launch pad on 22 April 2008. Giove-B is the first of two Galileo in-orbit validation satellites due to be launched.

Photo credit: ESA

The EU flag and Giove logo are clearly visible on the top of the rocket that holds the satellite as it's prepared for launch.

Photo credit: ESA

The rocket containing the Giove-B satellite took off on Sunday, beginning the next phase of the Galileo pilot programme.

Photo credit: ESA

This is what the Giove-B satellite will look like in orbit around the earth.

See pictures from the launch of the first test satellite, Giove-A back in summer 2006.

Picture credit: ESA