The first two Celeste satellites lifting off from Rocket Lab’s Māhia Launch Complex in New Zealand on an Electron rocket.
Celeste is ESA’s in-orbit demonstrator mission designed to test novel satellite navigation concepts for resilient positioning and timing services.
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: