MILAN — The European Space Agency has launched the first two satellites of the Celeste in-orbit demonstration mission from New Zealand aboard a Rocket Lab Electron launcher on March 28.
The two satellites were launched at 10:14 CET and separated from the launcher about an hour later into a quasi-polar low Earth orbit at 510 kilometers. Acquisition of signal has been confirmed for both spacecraft.
Roberto Prieto-Cerderia, Celeste program manager at ESA, explained the choice of Rocket Lab over a European launcher during a pre-launch briefing. "We had an obligation to use the frequencies by May 2026. In Europe, the main possibility was Vega-C, which was fully booked at the time, so we had to find alternative solutions.
