ESA Satellite navigation

On 2 September 2025, the European Space Agency (ESA) opened the doors of ESTEC, its research and technology centre, to celebrate 30 years of European satellite navigation. Partners from across the continent gathered for a sensational event that took the audience on a journey through time, honouring the achievements and collaboration that have shaped this success story.

Following the announcement of the upcoming launch of LEO-PNT’s first satellites, ESA has now unveiled the name of the mission. Celeste, as it has been officially designated, will test the potential of a new, low Earth orbit layer of satellites to enhance Galileo’s resilience and complement its capabilities.

The European Space Agency (ESA) confirms the launch of the first two LEO-PNT satellites is planned from second half of December 2025, on a Rocket Lab Electron launcher vehicle, from New Zealand. The LEO-PNT in-orbit demonstrator mission is a pioneer mission for Europe that will advance satellite navigation concepts for resilient positioning and timing services.

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.

The building of twelve Galileo Second Generation satellites is progressing rapidly, with several key milestones achieved in recent months. Among the most significant are the successful compatibility tests with ground infrastructure, an essential step as the satellites move through the production cycle.

Europe’s Galileo is the world’s most precise satellite navigation system, providing metre-level accuracy to billions of users. ESA and European industry are preparing a new generation of satellites for the European Union, the Galileo Second Generation or G2, that will revolutionise the fleet with enhanced capabilities.

On 12 March 2013, Galileo satellite GSAT0104, alongside its fellow In-Orbit Validation (IOV) satellites, made history by enabling the first position fix by Europe’s independent satellite navigation system Galileo. Now, after 12 years of service mostly in the area of Search and Rescue, GSAT0104 makes history again by becoming the first satellite in the Galileo constellation to be decommissioned.

Based at the ESTEC technical centre in the Netherlands, ESA’s Navigation Laboratory has a high-flying new recruit: this drone can carry different types of satellite navigation receivers to collect data for follow-on analysis.

In November 2023, ESA hosted its annual NAVISP Industry Days event. This year, more than 200 positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) professionals from across Europe gathered at ESA’s Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in the Netherlands to explore together opportunities for innovation, commercialisation and collaboration via ESA’s Navigation Innovation and Support Programme (NAVISP).

For more information: visit https://navisp.esa.int

Galileo is Europe’s largest satellite constellation – and the world’s most accurate satnav system. The work on Galileo began two decades ago with two test GIOVE satellites, followed by a series of operational launches.

The two GIOVE satellites, the first Galileo In-Orbit Validation satellite and all 34 Galileo Full Operational Capability satellites were tested at ESA’s ESTEC Test Centre, Europe’s largest satellite testing facility.

On this day the very last satellite in the Galileo First Generation series leaves the site, and the people responsible for readying them for space have gathered to say goodbye. Next will come the Galileo Second Generation satellites, already in development.

About Galileo

Galileo is managed and funded by the European Union. The European Commission, ESA and EUSPA (the EU Agency for the Space Programme) have signed an agreement by which ESA acts as design authority and system development prime on behalf of the Commission and EUSPA as the exploitation and operation manager of Galileo/EGNOS.