Will we be passengers or pilots? Customers or service providers? Tenants or architects? At the International Space Summit, I argued that Europe must take steps now to shape its own future in space. Read my full speech 🧑‍🚀🚀 esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/corpora... #ParisSpaceSummit

Last night we brought together astronauts, ministers, industry leaders and space enthusiasts to celebrate the imagination, innovation and cooperation that define Europe's journey in space. From Earth orbit to deep space, we were reminded that today's ambitions become tomorrow's achievements.

⌛The countdown is on! ESA’s navigation lab on wheels is setting off for Andøya, Norway, home to the world’s largest satellite navigation resilience test where hundreds of interference scenarios challenge receivers tracking satellite navigation systems. Stay tuned for updates from the field!

🏙️ It's World Skyscraper Day! Did you know that skyscrapers can affect your phone's positioning app? In cities, satellite navigation signals can bounce off tall buildings, leading to positioning errors. Fortunately, ESA is working to improve urban navigation. 📸 EUSPA

⛵ 🛰️🏛️ What would have happened if Odysseus had Galileo when he set sail for Ithaca after the Trojan War? A ten-year journey completed in a matter of weeks…but then we wouldn't have The Odyssey. How does modern satellite navigation relate to Odysseus’s journey? Find out below⬇️

🛰️ Satellite navigation is an invisible backbone for everyday life. It's also vulnerable to interference. ESA is working to ensure satellite navigation is resilient, in part by detecting interference. Here are three recent ways NAVISP supported interference detection 👉 www.esa.int/Applications...

A look back at some highlights from the past months 🎥 1️⃣ Galileo satellites arriving at the Ariane 6 launch pad, December 2025. 2️⃣ Integration of Celeste IOD satellites at Rocket Lab’s Māhia Launch Complex, March 2026. 3️⃣ESA Academy's Navigation Training Course in Redu, Belgium, June 2026.

🛰️ Satellite navigation on holidays: Picking up a souvenir? Banks use Galileo's nanosecond-level timing to authenticate transactions, allowing you to make purchases and withdraw money, even when on holiday. ℹ️ www.euspa.europa.eu/gnss-timing-...

#OTD in 2000, the first telecoms 🌐, navigation🧭 and earth observation🌍️ satellite system was used in an emergency to help during the Thynne Mountain forest fire in British Columbia, Canada🍁 @navigation.esa.int @esaearth.esa.int

🛰 Satellite navigation on holidays: "How far are we from the museum?" As you plan your route this summer, Galileo is probably helping you get there. Billions of smartphone users worldwide rely on Galileo for positioning, navigation and timing. ℹ️ www.usegalileo.eu/accuracy-mat... 📷 Unsplash

🛰️ Satellite navigation on holidays: Enjoying a boat trip? Galileo is here to keep you safe at sea. It contributes to international search and rescue operations through the COSPAS-SARSAT system. ℹ️ www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed... 📷 ESA–I. Stojkovic

🛬 Satellite navigation on holidays: Flying somewhere for your summer holidays? Did you know that EGNOS helps guide safe aeroplane landings in over 500 airports and helipads across Europe? Find out more about EGNOS 🔗 egnos-user-support.essp-sas.eu 📷: GSA

🛰️Two new Galileo satellites enter service Two new satellites, SAT 33 and SAT 34, have now officially joined Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation constellation, strengthening its capabilities, resilience and autonomy. www.esa.int/Applications...

The Earth emoji is doing its best 🌍 🛰️ But let's not forget the satellites orbiting overhead, powering positioning, navigation and timing, and so much more.

What has ESA been up to these past months? Propelling people around the Moon, making discoveries about comet 3I/ATLAS and sending a mission to the Sun. 📍 Closer to Earth, our Celeste satellites broadcast their first navigation signals in April. esamultimedia.esa.int/multimedia/p...

🛰️Revealing OpSTAR's patch! OpSTAR is our bright new demonstrator mission, aimed at showcasing how optical technologies can reshape the architecture of satellite navigation, enable greater accuracy and strengthen resilience. Can you spot all the hidden elements? www.esa.int/Applications...

🛰️ Galileo's second generation will feature intersatellite links, which will allow the satellites to ‘talk’ to one another in orbit. Read more about the test campaign to get the intersatellite links ready for life in space here: 🔗 @esa.int @euspa.bsky.social @ec.europa.eu

Conversations in the sky: Galileo’s intersatellite links tested

The second generation of Galileo, Europe’s satellite navigation constellation, is being built. These satellites will feature reconfigurable payloads, provide more robust and reliable positioning, navi...

esa.int

🛰️ We're putting the pieces together for Galileo second generation. Here, the electric propulsion system is being lowered onto the satellite platform of the Airbus Defence and Space satellite family. 🔗 www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed... @esa.int @euspa.bsky.social @ec.europa.eu

The global geodesy supply chain underpins modern satellite functioning by providing the reference data satellites need to know where they are and where to point. Read about how ESA is strengthening the global geodesy supply chain 👉 www.esa.int/Applications... 📸: UN-GCCE

Thirty years ago, Europe set out to build an independent navigation system. “Finding Our Way: Inside the Galileo Project” goes behind the signal that guides us all. 📅 Save the date: 11.06.2026 🔗 www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2bL... @esa.int @euspa.bsky.social @ec.europa.eu @designdatagmbh.bsky.social

April was a busy month for @esa.int! 🛰️ We’re particularly proud of the Celeste IOD satellites, which broadcast their first navigation signals. Check out this moment and other highlights from April 👇 www.youtube.com/watch?v=50eD...

What happened this month at European Space Agency (April 2026)

YouTube video by European Space Agency, ESA

youtube.com

🧭 What's it like to attend a navigation conference? Last week, we were at the European Navigation Conference in Vienna, Austria. While there, we dived into the future of navigation with partners from industry, academia and government. Follow us through a day at the conference here ⬇️

🛰️ Good morning Celeste, we hear you loud and clear! Last night, ESA’s second Celeste satellite sent its first dual-frequency navigation message in the L- (🔴) and S-band (🔵) from low Earth orbit. Congratulations to the teams around Europe that connected in the early hours to make this happen!

🛰️ A European first! ESA’s Celeste broadcasts first navigation signal from low Earth orbit. Sent from Celeste IOD-1, the signal is the first dual-frequency navigation message in the L- and S-band, the first sent from a European satellite in low-Earth orbit. www.esa.int/Applications...

During #Artemis II's Moon flyby there were around 40 minutes without contact back to Earth📶 🌍️ @esa.int 's Moonlight aims to fill this gap by deploying a constellation of communication and navigation satellites around the Moon to never lose connection when most needed 🌑 @navigation.esa.int

Galileo signals reach all the way to the Moon! 🛰️🌙 Last year, a joint ASI and NASA mission determined its position on the Moon using Galileo and GPS satellites and tested Galileo's Emergency Warning Satellite Service on the Moon. 🔗 www.esa.int/Applications... 📸 @firefly-aerospace.bsky.social

#Artemis II is taking us closer to the Moon... but the surface awaits! 🌙 For future lunar missions, @esa.int 's Moonlight programme aims to power communications and navigation across the lunar surface 🛰️🧭 Find out more 👉 connectivity.esa.int/moonlight @navigation.esa.int

🚀 Did you miss our first Celeste launch? Watch the replay! Last Saturday, the first two satellites of our new satellite navigation in-orbit demonstration mission flew into space aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from the Māhia Launch Complex in New Zealand. www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

💫 ABSOLUTELY CELESTIAL! This Saturday, @rocketlabcorp.com took the first two Celeste satellites into orbit. They are alive and well. This is a major step forward in strengthening Europe's ambition for more resilient satellite navigation. www.esa.int/Applications... 📷 Rocket Lab, ESA–D. Ducros

Celeste is in orbit!🚀 ESA’s first two #Celeste demo satellites have successfully launched on RocketLab’s Electron from New Zealand, starting tests of a complementary #LEO layer for #Galileo to boost resilience and unlock new PNT services. www.esa.int/Newsroom/Pre...