Celeste (LEO-PNT)

Celeste is a future Low Earth orbit Positioning Navigation Timing satellite constellation by the European Space Agency (ESA) intended to demonstrate the usefulness of LEO satellites for complementing and enhancing the services of higher orbit systems like Galileo or EGNOS. Launch of the first two satellites is planned for early 2026.

Name

Celeste was named after Maria Celeste, a 17th century Poor Clares nun and a daughter of Galileo Galilei.

Launches

First two satellites, in the form of large CubeSats, will be launched in early 2026 on a Rocket Lab's Electron launch vehicle from Launch Complex 1 on Māhia Peninsula, New Zealand to a quasi-polar orbit. Later, eight of the larger and more complex Pathfinder B satellites will be launched to similar orbits. The entire constellation of 10 satellites is planned to be completed in 2027.