\n<\/p>\n
On 8 April, teams from the European Space Agency (ESA) and industry partners gathered at ESA\u2019s\u00a0Navigation Lab\u00a0at ESTEC, the agency\u2019s technical heart in the Netherlands.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
After moments full of anticipation, they received the\u00a0very first\u00a0navigation\u00a0signal from the Celeste mission, marking the first successful transmission of a navigation signal from\u00a0a\u00a0European satellite in\u00a0low Earth orbit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Celeste mission\u00a0is ESA\u2019s initiative for Low Earth Orbit Positioning, Navigation and Timing (LEO-PNT) and is currently\u00a0in\u00a0its in-orbit demonstration phase.\u00a0<\/p>\n
ESTEC\u2019s Navigation Lab\u00a0is at the core of all ESA’s Navigation testing activities, and so\u00a0was\u00a0a natural choice\u00a0to receive the mission\u2019s first signal.\u00a0But there is one\u00a0other\u00a0reason\u00a0\u2013\u00a0more\u00a0than\u00a010 years ago, this very lab was where another\u00a0milestone\u00a0for European navigation\u00a0took place:\u00a0the\u00a0first determination of a ground location using satellites in the Galileo\u00a0constellation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n