At 10:14 CET on 28 March, the first two satellites of ESA’s Celeste LEO-PNT in-orbit demonstration mission lifted off aboard a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from Māhia, New Zealand.
Celeste is Europe’s first initiative to bring satellite navigation into low Earth orbit (LEO). By testing next-generation technologies and new frequency bands, it will help shape the future of positioning, navigation and timing services.
Flying closer to Earth, Celeste will demonstrate how a complementary LEO layer can strengthen Europe’s Galileo system in medium Earth orbit — improving resilience, enhancing performance and enabling new services.
Credits: Rocket Lab
Access the video on the ESA video library: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2026/03/Celeste_liftoff
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We are Europe's gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe's space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
Copyright information about our videos is available here: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Terms_and_Conditions
Celeste is Europe’s first initiative to bring satellite navigation into low Earth orbit (LEO). By testing next-generation technologies and new frequency bands, it will help shape the future of positioning, navigation and timing services.
Flying closer to Earth, Celeste will demonstrate how a complementary LEO layer can strengthen Europe’s Galileo system in medium Earth orbit — improving resilience, enhancing performance and enabling new services.
Credits: Rocket Lab
Access the video on the ESA video library: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2026/03/Celeste_liftoff
★ Subscribe: http://bit.ly/ESAsubscribe and click twice on the bell button to receive our notifications.
We are Europe's gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe's space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
Copyright information about our videos is available here: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Terms_and_Conditions
- Category
- Deep Space
- Tags
- ESA, European Space Agency, ESA Celeste mission
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