> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://sovereigntymonitor.eu/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# ESA picks Rocket Lab to launch navigation satellites, no EU option
- URL: https://sovereigntymonitor.eu/news/2025-06-25-esa-rocket-lab-leo-pnt-launch-contract/
- Published: 2025-06-25T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-21T04:05:09.000Z
- Description: ESA picked US firm Rocket Lab to launch two Thales Alenia Space and GMV built Celeste navigation demonstrator satellites from New Zealand, no earlier than December 2025, for want of a European small launcher.
- Author: Reidar Balstad
- Tags: Defence and space, #news, #verified, #editor-read

Verified Editor-read [European Space Agency article, 25 June 2025](https://www.esa.int/Applications/Satellite%5Fnavigation/Celeste/ESA%5Fs%5FLEO-PNT%5Fsatellites%5Fset%5Fto%5Flaunch%5Fby%5Fend%5Fof%5Fyear?ref=sovereigntymonitor.eu)

**What it does not test.** Does not establish that the full ten satellite LEO PNT constellation, due by 2027, will also fly on non European rockets.

**How this item counts.** This item is dated before the index starts on 1 January 2026, so it does not count in the [European Sovereignty Index](https://sovereigntymonitor.eu/sovereignty-index/).

**How this item was made.** Drafted by an AI system (Claude (Anthropic)) from the source cited above; read and approved by the editor on 2026-10-20\. [How the record is made](https://sovereigntymonitor.eu/method/#how-the-record-is-made)