23/03/2026
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On 25 March, the primary two satellites of the Celeste LEO-PNT in-orbit demonstration mission will raise off aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from the corporate’s Māhia Launch Advanced in New Zealand.
Protection will begin 9:53 CET with reside commentary. The rocket is scheduled for liftoff at 10:14, with a launch window of about an hour.
Celeste will play a pioneering position in elevating the way forward for Europe’s satellite tv for pc navigation capabilities. As Europe’s first initiative for satellite tv for pc navigation in low Earth orbit (LEO), the mission can be testing next-generation applied sciences and add new frequency bands for satellite tv for pc navigation.
Celeste will exhibit how a complementary layer flying nearer to Earth can improve Europe’s present Galileo system in medium Earth orbit (MEO), boosting the general resilience, enhancing its efficiency and opening alternatives for brand spanking new service capabilities straight from LEO.
Watch the Celeste launch reside on ESA WebTV or ESA YouTube.
Programme (all instances in CET)
09:53 Broadcast begins
10:14 Liftoff
10:16 First stage separation
10:23 Second stage separation
11:04 Payload 1 deployment.
11:08 Payload 1 deployment.
11:09 Broadcast ends
Stay from the Munich Area Summit
In case you are attending the Munich Area Summit, the launch can be streamed. The programme is offered right here:
About Celeste
The Celeste mission is ESA’s initiative for LEO-PNT (Low Earth Orbit Positioning Navigation and Timing) and is at the moment in its in-orbit demonstration section. This primary section contains a demonstration constellation of 11 satellites that may fly in low Earth orbit to check revolutionary indicators throughout varied frequency bands. Its aim is to advance satellite tv for pc navigation ideas for resilient positioning and timing companies.
The Celeste in-orbit demonstration section was authorized at ESA’s Council at Ministerial Stage of 2022. The fleet is being developed by two parallel contracts respectively led by GMV (ES) with OHB (DE) as core associate, and by Thales Alenia Area (FR) as prime and Thales Alenia Area (IT) as house phase accountable. The 2 consortia contain over 50 entities from greater than 14 nations.
Celeste was additional supported in ESA’s Council at Ministerial Stage of 2025 (CM25), in the direction of the implementation of the subsequent section: the LEO-PNT In-Orbit Preparatory section.
Celeste additionally contributes to one of many three core pillars of ESA’s new European Resilience from Area (ERS) initiative, endorsed at CM25. ERS addresses important safety and resilience wants for Member States whereas laying the groundwork for future European strategic house capabilities.
