Celeste IOD - Facts and figures

Constellation size

11 satellites + 1 spare

Launch

• First: Celeste IOD-1 and IOD-2 NET 24 March 2026
• Next: Celeste IOD-3 to 11 from 2027

Launcher

• Rocket Lab’s Electron for Celeste IOD-1 and IOD-2
• To be announced for Celeste IOD-3 to 11

Launch site

• Mahia Launch Complex, in New Zealand for Celeste IOD-1 and IOD-2
• To be announced for Celeste IOD-3 to 11

Orbit

Quasi polar orbit, between 500 and 600 km.

Satellites size and mass

• IOD-1: 12U CubeSat, 20 kg, by GMV
• IOD-2: 16U CubeSat, 30 kg, by Thales Alenia Space

Frequency bands

• IOD-1 & 2:
  • L and S-band, from current GNSS.
• IOD-3 to 11:
  • L-band from current GNSS.
  • S-band sensors to demonstrate positioning with 5G satellite waveforms.
  • C-band to support accurate and resilient PNT demonstrations.
  • UHF for enhanced penetration and indoor-oriented tests.

Main applications

In-orbit testing of critical positioning, navigation and timing technologies in low-Earth orbit, including autonomous precise orbit determination without reliance on ground infrastructure, timing stability and synchronisation performance, and verification of radionavigation in L- and S-band, introduction of new frequency bands (UHF, C- and S-band).

Funding

The Celeste in-orbit demonstration mission was approved at ESA’s Council at Ministerial Level of 2022 and is supported by Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Two parallel contracts to develop the fleet were awarded in 2024 to two consortia involving over 50 entities from 14 countries.

Prime contractors

Two consortia led respectively by:

• GMV (Spain), with OHB (Germany) as core partner.
• Thales Alenia Space (France) with Thales Alenia Space (Italy) as space segment responsible.