Two Galileo satellites launched in 2014 by a Soyuz rocket into erroneous orbits, which had been briefly set healthy late last year, have now been removed from service. The change stems from the discovery that, while the vast majority of users obtained an improved positioning, some commercial receivers had difficulty with the satellites’ highly elliptical orbits, created by the malfunction in the Russian launch vehicle.
The European GNSS Agency (GSA) issued a Service Notice to Galileo Users (SNGU) on February 16:
Galileo SNGU In Force
“On 30 November 2020, flags were removed from GSAT0201 and GSAT0202 satellites, making these satellites available for positioning as auxiliary satellites. Following the removal of these flags, the Galileo Programme set up an observation period to collect user feedback and experience with the use of these satellites.