Keeping in touch: On opposing top and bottom corners of the satellite what resemble squat batons project out into space – these are the twin ‘S-band’ antennas, which return ‘housekeeping’ telemetry data to mission control on Earth and pick up telecommands in turn to operate the satellite platform and payload – as well as performing the ranging used to estimate the satellite’s position in space.
#TwelveThingsYouNeverKnewAboutGalileoSatellites