{"id":36511,"date":"2026-03-29T21:30:35","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T15:45:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/?p=36511"},"modified":"2026-03-29T21:30:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T15:45:38","slug":"celestes-first-satellites-launched-to-test-leo-navigation-layer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/celestes-first-satellites-launched-to-test-leo-navigation-layer\/","title":{"rendered":"Celeste\u2019s first satellites launched to test LEO navigation layer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Rocket Lab’s Electron revealing Celeste IOD-1 and 2 (artist impression)<\/em><\/sup>: IMAGE: ESA<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The European Space Agency (ESA) launched the first two satellites of its Celeste mission on Friday, marking a step toward strengthening Europe\u2019s satellite navigation capabilities with a low Earth orbit (LEO) layer to complement Galileo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The spacecraft, built by GMV and Thales Alenia Space, lifted off aboard Rocket Lab\u2019s Electron rocket from New Zealand at 10:14 CET. They separated from the launcher about an hour later, entering their early operations phase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Celeste will validate new signals, service capabilities, and core technologies, while activating required L- and S-band frequencies in line with International Telecommunication Union rules. ESA plans to expand the constellation to 11 satellites by 2027, enabling experiments across multiple frequency bands and applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCeleste will demonstrate how a navigation constellation in low Earth orbit can complement Europe\u2019s Galileo system,\u201d ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher said. He added that the mission reflects a \u201cNew Space-inspired approach\u201d for faster and more flexible deployment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ESA Navigation Director Francisco-Javier Benedicto Ruiz said the project would enhance resilience and robustness of Europe\u2019s positioning systems, while opening new services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flying closer to Earth, Celeste aims to deliver stronger signals and support applications ranging from autonomous transport and aviation to emergency communications, IoT tracking, and indoor navigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The demonstration phase, backed by ESA member states, will prepare European industry for a potential operational LEO navigation layer to complement Galileo and EGNOS.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The European Space Agency (ESA) launched the first two satellites of its Celeste mission on Friday, marking a step toward strengthening Europe\u2019s satellite navigation capabilities with a low Earth orbit (LEO) layer to complement Galileo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36512,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-space-news"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Rocket_Lab_s_Electron_revealing_Celeste_IOD-1_and_2_artist_impression_pillars.webp",960,665,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Rocket_Lab_s_Electron_revealing_Celeste_IOD-1_and_2_artist_impression_pillars-200x200.webp",200,200,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Rocket_Lab_s_Electron_revealing_Celeste_IOD-1_and_2_artist_impression_pillars-675x468.webp",675,468,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Rocket_Lab_s_Electron_revealing_Celeste_IOD-1_and_2_artist_impression_pillars-768x532.webp",750,520,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Rocket_Lab_s_Electron_revealing_Celeste_IOD-1_and_2_artist_impression_pillars.webp",750,520,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Rocket_Lab_s_Electron_revealing_Celeste_IOD-1_and_2_artist_impression_pillars.webp",960,665,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Rocket_Lab_s_Electron_revealing_Celeste_IOD-1_and_2_artist_impression_pillars.webp",960,665,false],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Rocket_Lab_s_Electron_revealing_Celeste_IOD-1_and_2_artist_impression_pillars.webp",960,665,false],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Rocket_Lab_s_Electron_revealing_Celeste_IOD-1_and_2_artist_impression_pillars-870x570.webp",870,570,true],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Rocket_Lab_s_Electron_revealing_Celeste_IOD-1_and_2_artist_impression_pillars-600x665.webp",600,665,true],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Rocket_Lab_s_Electron_revealing_Celeste_IOD-1_and_2_artist_impression_pillars-600x600.webp",600,600,true],"newspaper-x-single-post":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Rocket_Lab_s_Electron_revealing_Celeste_IOD-1_and_2_artist_impression_pillars-760x490.webp",760,490,true],"newspaper-x-recent-post-big":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Rocket_Lab_s_Electron_revealing_Celeste_IOD-1_and_2_artist_impression_pillars-550x360.webp",550,360,true],"newspaper-x-recent-post-list-image":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Rocket_Lab_s_Electron_revealing_Celeste_IOD-1_and_2_artist_impression_pillars-95x65.webp",95,65,true],"web-stories-poster-portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Rocket_Lab_s_Electron_revealing_Celeste_IOD-1_and_2_artist_impression_pillars-640x665.webp",640,665,true],"web-stories-publisher-logo":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Rocket_Lab_s_Electron_revealing_Celeste_IOD-1_and_2_artist_impression_pillars-96x96.webp",96,96,true],"web-stories-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Rocket_Lab_s_Electron_revealing_Celeste_IOD-1_and_2_artist_impression_pillars-150x104.webp",150,104,true]},"author_info":{"info":["RevoScience"]},"category_info":"Space\/ 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