As Low Earth Orbit Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (LEO-PNT) initiatives gain momentum worldwide, Europe is advancing its efforts with the European Space Agency's (ESA) Celeste In-Orbit Demonstrator (IOD). Thales Alenia Space, the prime contractor for one of the two consortia developing the IOD, has entrusted Anywaves with the design and delivery of the antennas required for the mission, including the navigation payload antenna.

The navigation payload antenna, intended to radiate a navigation signal from the Low Earth Orbit, was developed, qualified, and delivered in less than 18 months. It features an innovative design optimised for small satellite platforms.

Key Antenna Specifications and Features:

• Configuration: Combines compactness and performance through a quadrifilar helix configuration and deployable mast technology.
• Performance: Offers an excellent ratio between stowed and deployed dimensions.
• Signal Quality: Ensures homogeneous signal distribution on the ground with consistent power and quality, even in challenging environments.
• Transmission: Its circular polarisation and helical structure enable reliable and accurate transmission^.
• Durability: The deployment mechanisms are specifically designed to withstand launch loads and meet the requirements of low Earth orbit.

As part of the Celeste IOD contract, Anywaves has delivered one qualification model and two flight models, thus validating its development processes and its ability to provide flight-ready payload antennas.

Expertise in Payload Antenna 

This new delivery marks another milestone in Anywaves' continued growth trajectory. Earlier in 2025, the company became the first commercial supplier to deploy a Reflectarray antenna in orbit, demonstrating its industrial expertise in designing payload antennas, particularly deployable models.

Anywaves' current contribution to the Celeste programme, which includes delivering both the helix antenna and a GNSS service antenna, builds on a collaboration initiated with Thales Alenia Space in 2020. This partnership was previously realised in 2022 with the launch of Omnispace Spark-1TM, the first satellite of the Omnispace program, which was also equipped with Anywaves antennas.

Flying aboard Pathfinder-A, the first satellite of the Celeste IOD, Anywaves reaffirms its capacity to innovate rapidly and provide high-performance payload antennas for constellation missions.

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