Successful “Celeste” Project Launch to Help Position ESA as a Leader in GNSS Technology

To complement the current Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) (2,000 Kilometers (km) to 36,000 km) Galileo system, the European Space Agency (ESA) recently launched a new Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) constellation, Celeste, orbiting below 2,000 km, a demonstration mission to study the benefits and value of having an additional complementary system that can work in tandem with the Galileo network. The first two satellites, In-Orbit Demonstration (IOD)-1 and IOD-2, were launched in late March 2026, with a further nine satellites scheduled for launch in 2027 and beyond.

LEO constellations operate at a lower altitude relative to MEO constellations, thereby reducing the distance of signal communications and lowering latency, improving data transmission times. Harnessing these benefits, Celeste aims to improve positioning accuracy, signal power, resilience, and coverage, while reducing vulnerability to interference attacks with more frequency bands for devices relying on the ESA constellation. This enables a wide range of new industry applications such as autonomous vehicles, drones, and innovative Internet of Things (IoT) deployments. Consequently, the Celeste constellation strengthens ESA’s reliability and security in its communications for operational sustainability.

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are critical components of national infrastructure, providing key navigation and location data across industries, such as logistics, aviation, etc. However, ensuring data accuracy and resiliency of these critical systems is a challenge, particularly due to attacks from threat actors. Hurdles include signal jamming and signal spoofing. Signal jamming is the broadcast of radio signals on the same frequency bands operated by the targeted satellites, preventing receivers from decoding legitimate satellite signals. Signal spoofing is more subtle, which involves the broadcasting of counterfeit signals to create a spoofed location and time data.

These deliberate radio frequency interferences constitute a major challenge for the European Union (EU), given that the Galileo system is now widely integrated into smartphones. According to ABI Research, driven by the EU’s mandate requiring all smartphones sold in the European market to be compatible with Galileo signals, Galileo-enabled handsets have significantly increased in overall shipment numbers and share, exceeding 1 billion units and representing 82% of handsets shipped in 2025. Of all handsets released in 2025, 53% of handset models released in 2025 are equipped with dual-frequency Galileo capability and 9% of handsets models released in 2025 are equipped with triple-frequency Galileo capability. Receivers within handsets that receive single frequency are typically accurate to ~3–10 meters, while receivers with dual frequency see accuracy improve to ~1–3 meters. Triple frequency receivers see results that are accurate to sub-1 meter. Hence, the reliance on multiple bands enables handsets to receive accurate PNT data more swiftly and improve operational reliability upon signal interferences.

The introduction of Celeste integrates the C-band to the ESA’s PNT ecosystem, enabling the transmission of wide-bandwidth signals that are more resistant to jamming and spoofing relative to Galileo’s frequency bands. In conjunction with the benefits of LEO-PNT, Celeste’s impact, especially on enterprises, is efficacious. Handsets can receive reliable and accurate PNT data, emergency services can respond faster with shortened signal transmission times, search and rescue teams are able to receive accurate location data in remote areas where Galileo’s signals are weak, and autonomous vehicles can operate more reliably with the reduced likelihood of signal interference. Hence, to enhance operational sustainability in consumer, government, and enterprise verticals, it is imperative that the EU enhances the resiliency of its GNSS.

The introduction of the Celeste system is a timely one to bolster operational reliability. In particular, transmitting GNSS telemetry data on multiple bands, such as the C-band, L-Band, S-band, and Ultra High Frequency (UHF), enables end-user equipment with GNSS receivers to gather data from various GNSS satellites to generate accurate time and location data. With these bands, existing Galileo handsets see more robust positioning for handsets with chipsets capable of receiving L-band signals. Chipset makers would need to expand their product capabilities to utilize the new bands that Celeste offers beyond receiving signals in Galileo’s E-band and L-band. Beyond deploying new satellite systems, governing bodies, both in Europe and beyond, should also consider implementing additional PNT solutions to further enhance their PNT security to establish dependable national infrastructure. These could include:

• Studying the use of alternate terrestrial-based location solutions to complement existing satellite systems. For example, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States is currently considering NextNav’s proposal to reallocate more spectrum in the 900 Megahertz (MHz) frequency band for 5G-based PNT services. If implemented, this could serve as a good case study for other governments to learn from.
• Regulatory bodies should work together with vendors, such as Iridium, to deploy GNSS monitoring solutions to detect and identify jamming and spoofing sources in real time. Capabilities should include real-time alerts, regional interference maps, and forensic data for enforcement. This also acts as a deterrent for attackers, knowing that they are being detected and traced.
• Authorities should work closely with third-party vendors, such as Sony, to use advanced chipsets within national infrastructure, such as transportation systems or telecommunications sectors, that enable the reception of multiple frequency bands for additional operational stability in the event one or more frequency bands are attacked.

By investing in advanced and innovative GNSS and adjacent technologies, nations can build a strong geolocation technology foundation, which can, in turn, be used as a key catalyst to support innovation across other industries, such as logistics, transportation, and automotive.