ESA
ESA launches first Celeste LEO navigation demonstrator: two Thales Alenia IOD‑2 satellites on Rocket Lab Electron
Two Thales Alenia-built IOD‑2 satellites for ESA’s Celeste in-orbit demonstration launched at 10:14 CET from New Zealand aboard a Rocket Lab Electron and separated roughly an hour later. The pair begin validating a complementary LEO navigation layer intended to boost positioning accuracy and integrity for Europe’s next‑generation GNSS.
