A launch malfunction has blasted the first two fully operational satellites for Europe's global-positioning Galileo project into incorrect orbits, roughly 2,000 miles off their intended positions.
Space industry experts on Saturday said the satellites, which are in elliptical rather than circular orbits, may be stranded in unusable orbits and end up having to be destroyed. In a best-case scenario, they said, the spacecraft could be saved but they would have significantly shorter lifespans than planned because of onboard fuel constraints.
It is the latest setback for the controversial, $13.3 billion Galileo project, which has suffered from political squabbles, budget overruns, manufacturing delays and a component failure aboard a developmental satellite earlier this year.
The European Commission, which is responsible for the progress and management of Galileo, said it was following the situation very closely and had requested the launch of an inquiry "to clarify the circumstances and the potential implications for the mission."
"More information will be provided after the preliminary analysis of the situation is concluded," the commission said. "We can confirm that both satellites are responding, providing the signal and safely controlled by the European Space Agency's Operations Centre."
European space officials on Saturday began assessing the reasons for the problem and whether propulsion systems of the satellites can be used to slowly move them into proper position, even if it depletes fuel supplies needed to remain in orbit.
One person involved in the discussions said the initial reports indicated officials were pessimistic about such maneuvers, but no final decisions had been made.
The liftoff and first portion of the long-awaited launch from French Guiana, aboard a Russian-designed Soyuz rocket, proceeded without problems, according to European space officials and Arianespace SA, the launch-services provider. But an apparent problem with the guidance system of the upper stage caused both satellites to end up in what Arianespace described a "noncompliant orbit."
Arianespace, which operates Russian-built and European-built rockets from French Guiana, initially believed the satellites had been put into proper orbits based on data received from rocket systems. But roughly two hours later, ground stations determined the satellites weren't in correct positions.
Galileo eventually plans to encircle the earth with 30 satellites, with the next launch slated aboard a Soyuz rocket from the spaceport in Kourou in December. Based on the timetable of previous launch investigations involving Soyuz rockets, that schedule may not hold.
The orbital problem ends a remarkable streak of successful launches for Arianespace, a pan-European company that has a combination of government and corporate stakeholders. It launched eight previous Soyuz rockets from Kourou without a hitch, as well as more than 50 successful launches of its flagship Airane 5 booster.
This weekend's difficulties cropped up two days after Arianespace and the European Space Agency, acting on behalf of the European Commission, signed contracts for three Ariane 5 launches to lift 12 additional Galileo satellites into orbit. At the time, Stéphane Israël, Arianespace's chairman and chief executive, said Arianespace was "able to provide the most appropriate solution for stepping up the deployment of the entire Galileo constellation." Mr. Israël also said his company "is giving Europe guaranteed access to space and suitable solutions to meet its wide-ranging needs."
As the primary example of European space prowess, Arianespace over the years has received strong political and financial support from ESA and various countries. But apart from Soyuz issues, it faces a major challenge in persuading European leaders to agree on plans to develop a next-generation Ariane launcher to compete with lower-cost rivals.
On Saturday, Arianespace put out a release that said the two satellites were in "a stable condition and position that entails absolutely no risk for people on the ground." The company said an independent board will be convened to determine precisely what happened and draft corrective actions.
The goal, according to Arianespace, is to resume launches of Soyuz from Kourou "in complete safety and as quickly as possible," to help meet Galileo's goals "without undue delay."
Europe's global-positioning constellation of satellites was conceived partly out of concern that Washington could shut off or limit the use of the U.S. GPS built by the Pentagon. That system, which relies on at least 24 satellites, has long outgrown its military focus and now supports a vast array of commercial applications from in-car navigation to bank-teller machines.
—Robert Wall in London and Vanessa Mock in Brussels contributed to this article.
