LEO-PNT (Navigation System)

History

2025: System Announcement

In early July 2025, it became known that the European Space Agency began the creation of the LEO-PNT low-orbit navigation system, which will be fundamentally different from traditional navigation constellations. Rocket Lab has received an order to launch two demonstration satellites for the new constellation, which will be launched into low Earth orbit. The launch is scheduled for the end of 2025.

According to SpaceNews, the LEO-PNT project provides for the deployment of navigation vehicles in low Earth orbit, which radically distinguishes it from the well-known GPS, Galileo, GLONASS and Beidou systems. Existing navigation systems rely primarily on geostationary and mid-orbital satellites.

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Фото: Freepik

LEO-PNT Pathfinder A satellites are created by two different contractors - GMV and Thales Alenia Space companies. The devices will be launched using an Electron rocket from a cosmodrome in New Zealand into an orbit with an altitude of 510 kilometers.

ESA attributed the choice of Rocket Lab as the launch operator to the increased urgency of the project. The agency must have time to use the frequency band allocated by the International Telecommunication Union until spring 2026 to secure reserved frequencies.

Each of the two demonstration satellites weighs 20 to 30 kilograms and will work for at least six months. The devices will demonstrate key navigation technologies and allow ESA to occupy the booked frequencies, starting their practical use.

The choice of European carriers was excluded due to the launch time and parameters of the devices. The Ariane 6 and Vega-C rockets were too large for such small satellites, and the planned launches did not allow them to be placed as a passing load.^[1]

Notes