WASHINGTON -- A potential competitor to the U.S. Global Positioning System of space navigation satellites has chosen launch services for its constellations as well as replenishment, French space officials have announced.

The constellation of navigation satellites will consist of at least 21 satellites orbiting in medium low Earth orbit 20,000 km high. Three to nine additional satellites will supplement the main constellation orbiting at geostationary heights. Three of these nine will always orbit above Europe. All together the constellation will give global navigation coverage.

European space officials have said that Galileo will be operated in conjunction with the U.S.’ GPS. But U.S. space officials have spent the better part of the past two years trying to talk European space officials out of developing any indigenous satellite navigation system.

The negotiations, between European space and defense organizations and the then-Deputy Under Secretary of Defense-Space (called ‘DUSD-Space’, pronounced ‘dusty-space’) office in the Pentagon failed to convince European allies that GPS could serve their needs as well.

The DUSD-Space office was abolished by Defense Secretary William Cohen in a 1998 Pentagon cost saving measure.

The result of this competition could be increased pressure on efforts to market GPS as the world’s primary navigation system. The market for GPS products associated with the navigation service is worth billions to the U.S. commercial space industry. A successful Galileo deployment may threaten such dominance-which is precisely what Europe wants to do.

The first launch, of the new Ariane 5 ESV booster ("Evolution Versatile") is planned for mid-2002. The Ariane 5 ESC-B using the new cryogenic upper stage will begin service in 2005. This version will offer space payload makers 50 percent more capability than today’s Ariane 5 versions.

Soyuz will be capable of carrying two Galileo satellites in a constellation replacement/maintenance capacity. Arianespace said that its launch plan as of July 1999 looked like this:

-Limited deployment of three satellites during flight test phase using Soyuz-2003

-Medium high orbit constellation assembly using Ariane 5-beginning 2006-ending 2007

-Geostationary satellite deployment using Ariane 5-2006-2007

-Complete Galileo Global Navigation Satellite System (MEO and GEO) (GNSS), operational 2008.

-In-orbit maintenance phase with Soyuz-2008

-Replacement or system extension with Ariane 5 and Soyuz-2009 and beyond.

Ariane 5 launches will take place from the French spaceport at Kourou, French Guiana South America. Starsem launches of Soyuz will take place from Baikoneur.