The European Commission has awarded a contract for the first 14 satellites in the burgeoning Galileo constellation.  The first satellite is scheduled for delivery in July 2012, with one satellite every 1.5 months thereafter until the last satellite is delivered in March 2014.  Additional contracts were awarded for system support services and launch services. 

Bringing the Galileo constellation closer to reality will require the collective efforts of several nations in and beyond the European Union.  Companies in Germany (OHB System AG) and the United Kingdom (Surrey Satellite Technology Limited) will be providing the satellite components, an Italian company (Thales Alenia Space) will provide the system support services, and a French company (Arianespace) will provide launch services that will use both French Ariane-5 and Russian Soyuz launchers.

The announcement was made on January 7, 2010, and contracts are expected to be signed within the next few weeks.  The European Commission anticipates initial navigation system services by early 2014.  The final completion date of the 30-satellite constellation has not been announced.