ESA Satellite navigation

The European Space Agency has achieved a European first with Celeste, successfully transmitting a navigation signal from low Earth orbit, following the launch of the mission’s first satellites on March 28.

Last year, history was made as a navigation receiver on the Moon determined its position in real time using signals from approximately 410 000 km away. The receiver, called the Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE), acquired signals from four navigation satellites orbiting Earth: two Galileo satellites and two GPS satellites.

The mission also tested Galileo’s Emergency Warning Satellite Service (EWSS) on the Moon, demonstrating the robustness and reach of the planned service.

On 28 March, the European Space Agency (ESA) took a major step forward in strengthening Europe's ambition for more resilient satellite navigation, as the first two satellites of the Celeste in-orbit demonstration mission lifted off from New Zealand aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron. Their mission is to begin testing a complementary low Earth orbit layer for Galileo.

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.

Update: Rocket Lab has announced the next launch attempt for its Electron rocket carrying ESA's first two Celeste satellites is 28 March at 10:14 CET.

On 28 March, the first two satellites of the Celeste LEO-PNT in-orbit demonstration mission will lift off aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from the company’s Māhia Launch Complex in New Zealand.

Coverage will start 9:53 CET with live commentary. The rocket is scheduled for liftoff at 10:14, with a launch window of about an hour.

On 25 March, the first two satellites of the Celeste in-orbit demonstration mission will lift off aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from the company’s Māhia Launch Complex in New Zealand.

Celeste will play a pioneering role in elevating the future of Europe’s satellite navigation capabilities.

As ESA’s initiative for satellite navigation in low Earth orbit (LEO-PNT), the mission will be testing next-generation technologies and add new frequency bands for satellite navigation to inform the deployment of a future European operational navigation system in low Earth orbit. 

The mission will begin with two demonstrator satellites, IOD1-2, to secure and test the assigned frequency filings and transmit representative navigation signals until the end of the year.

The two satellites consist of two CubeSats (12U and 16U respectively), both developed by two consortia composed by a wide set of European players, one led by GMV (Spain) and the other led by Thales Alenia Space (France).

Learn more about Celeste: https://www.esa.int/Celeste/

Genesis is the European Space Agency’s (ESA) navigation mission to measure Earth down to the millimetre. This precise measurement of Earth will have wide-ranging benefits, from satellite navigation to orbit determination to Earth science.

Watch the replay of the CELESTE pre-launch media briefing. The briefing covered the mission details of the ahead of the inaugural launch of ESA’s Celeste LEO-PNT in-orbit demonstration constellation. The first two satellites are scheduled to lift off no earlier than 24 March aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from New Zealand.

On 11 February, International Day of Women and Girls in STEM, we are spotlighting the Genesis mission by speaking to Sara Gidlund, Head of the Genesis Project and Gaia Fusco, Genesis System and Operations Manager about the vision behind a mission for the world.
In this video, the women behind Genesis show how strong leadership drives technical innovation at ESA and inspire the next generation to lead with curiosity, vision and impact.
More on Genesis.

Satellite navigation is essential to everyday life, from tracking your morning jog to landing air ambulances. But as reliance on satellite navigation grows, so do the risks associated with its interruption, natural or intentional. To strengthen European resilience in navigation, the European Space Agency (ESA) takes part annually in Jammertest.

Organised on the remote island of Andøya, Norway, Jammertest is the world’s largest open air testing campaign for jamming and spoofing resilience. In September 2025, ESA engineers attended Jammertest with ESA’s mobile navigation lab to test how different systems respond to interference. After this, the data are analysed to check which technologies perform the best against jamming and spoofing. 

By bringing together academia, industry and governmental organisations, Jammertest helps make satellite navigation better for everyone and protects European assets. 

More on Jammertest: ESA - Navigating through interference at Jammertest

Press Release N° 36–2025

Uninterrupted access to satellite navigation is essential in our modern world, but it is threatened daily by external interference, such as jamming and spoofing. New technologies and concepts can help increase the resilience of our satellite navigation solutions. ESA and Leonardo are embarking on a joint project to explore smart antennas powered by Machine Learning to block unwanted signals.