Key Findings
The Celeste program has achieved a major milestone with the first in-orbit demonstration (IOD) of a Low Earth Orbit Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (LEO-PNT) system. Results presented at ION GNSS+ 2026 by Carlos Catalán of GMV confirm that navigation signals transmitted from the IOD1 satellite were successfully tracked and decoded by ground receivers, validating the end-to-end functionality of the system.
Technical Details
Launched on March 28, 2026, via a Rocket Lab electron vehicle from New Zealand, IOD1 operates in a 510-kilometer near-polar sun-synchronous orbit. The satellite’s payload autonomously determines its orbit and synchronizes timing to Galileo System Time using GNSS observations and navigation data. It transmits navigation messages across the E5 and SR bands, with the latter utilizing the RNSS S-band allocation.
Validation was conducted at ESA’s ESTEC facility in the Netherlands using high-gain antennas and spectrum analyzers. Technical measurements confirmed the following:
- E5 and SR-band power spectra closely matched expected waveforms.
- Effective isotropic radiated power was consistent with the payload link budget.
- Signal shapes and transmission levels were as predicted, including analysis of S-curve bias and correlation loss.
Reception was verified using both a dedicated Celeste test user receiver and a separate representative user receiver developed by Septentrio using an omnidirectional antenna.
Background & Context
IOD1 is one of two demonstration satellites launched on the same day, with parallel contracts led by GMV and Thales Alenia Space France. The demonstration architecture integrates the satellite with a ground segment as a service, a test-user segment, and an experimentation segment.
Significance & Outlook
This demonstration serves as a critical step in evaluating whether LEO signals can enhance Europe’s established satellite navigation infrastructure. Future work will focus on assessing positioning performance and user-equivalent range error. The roadmap includes four follow-on satellites—IOD3, IOD5, IOD7, and IOD9—designed to introduce additional capabilities and frequency bands.
Source: https://insidegnss.com/esas-celeste-demonstrates-end-to-end-leo-pnt-in-orbit/
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