PHOTOS: Soyuz success boosts Europe's GPS

A Soyuz rocket boosted two validation platforms from French Guiana into orbit Friday for Europe's Galileo navigation network, setting the stage for further launches every six months over the next few years to build a constellation of satellites beaming global positioning services to airplanes, automobiles and millions of users.

Liftoff occurred Oct. 12 at 1815 GMT (2:15 p.m. EDT).

Credit: ESA/Stephane Corvaja