Write a commentGIOVE, or Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element, is the name for each satellite in a series being built for the European Space Agency (ESA) to test technology in orbit for the Galileo positioning system.
Giove is the Italian word for "Jupiter". The name was chosen as a tribute to Galileo Galilei, who discovered the first four natural satellites of Jupiter, and later discovered that they could be used as a universal clock to obtain the longitude of a point on the Earth's surface.
The GIOVE satellites are exploited by the GIOVE Mission (GIOVE-M) segment in the frame of the risk mitigation for the In Orbit Validation (IOV) of the Galileo positioning system.
GIOVE-B (previously called GSTB-V2/B), has a similar mission, but has greatly improved signal generation hardware.
It was originally built by satellite consortium European Satellite Navigation Industries, but following re-organization of the project in 2007, the satellite prime contractor responsibility was passed to Astrium.
GIOVE-B also has MEO environment characterization objectives, as well as signal-in-space and receiver experimentation objectives. GIOVE-B carries three atomic clocks: two rubidium standards and the first space-qualified passive hydrogen maser.
Launched on 27 April 2008
