Galileo Satellite to Be Named After Bulgarian Child

A navigation satellite, part of the Galileo system will be named after Nataliya, a 9 year-old Bulgarian girl, who won the country's Galileo drawing contest..

The Galileo Contest is a chance for one child from each EU country to'join the stars' by having a real geostationary navigation satellite, part of the Galileo system, named after them.

To take part, each child submits a piece of artwork based on the theme 'Space and Aeronautics'. The competition is open to children born in 2000, 2001 and 2002 (i.e. children aged 9 to 11).

The competition ran in Belgium and Bulgaria from 10 April to 31 May 2011. It will launch in the remaining 25 countries in September and close on 15 November 2011.

The order in which names will be given to the satellites is based on the alphabetical order of the EU countries in their own national language. Thus, Belgium and Bulgaria selected the names for the first two satellites, scheduled to launch in August 2011.

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