@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ The average orbit (distance between the satellite and the earth) of the Galileo
# **History**
**The beginnings of Galileo date back to 1999,** but the project was officially launched on 26 May 2003 with the signing of the agreement between the European Union and the European Space Agency. At the time, the main objective of this project was to be able to move away from the American GPS positioning system in the long term for obvious strategic and geopolitical reasons. We should mention the fact that it was stated that the project would be solely civilian and had no military dimension.
**The beginnings of Galileo date back to 1999,** but the project was officially launched on 26 May 2003 with the signing of the agreement between the European Union and the European Space Agency. At the time, the main objective of this project was to be able to move away from the American [GPS](https://gitlab.univ-eiffel.fr/teamgeoloc/smartloc/-/wikis/GPS) positioning system in the long term for obvious strategic and geopolitical reasons. We should mention the fact that it was stated that the project would be solely civilian and had no military dimension.
**The first test satellite launches took place in 2005 and 2008.** Then the first satellites in operational configuration were launched in 2014. Finally, in March 2020, 26 satellites were launched, of which 22 were operational. The service itself has been operational since 2016, but it has had its share of problems and malfunctions, such as the breakdown in 2019, due to a failure of 25 of the 26 satellites, which lasted several days and greatly discredited the project.
