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The i2CAT research centre has announced within the Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2025 the launch of Europe’s first Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) laboratory for non-terrestrial network (NTN) research and development. This innovative mission will consist of a small satellite called 6GStarLab. It will experimentally validate new communication technologies in a real space environment and contribute to standardising NTNs, essential for the evolution of advanced 5G and future 6G.
6GStarLab will allow the research staff of the Catalan centre and its ecosystem to validate technological developments in orbit, accelerating research on satellite networks and their integration with terrestrial infrastructures. More specifically, the laboratory will allow the study and validation of virtualisation techniques for satellite infrastructure and the evaluation of 6G communication frequencies with multi-frequency devices. In addition, the satellite will incorporate an optical terminal to accelerate satellite-to-ground communications in this domain. 6GStarLab will be an open and flexible testbed, allowing experiments to be deployed and executed remotely, promoting innovation in the emerging ecosystem working towards the interconnection between terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks.
At the presentation ceremony held yesterday, the Secretary for Telecommunications and Digital Transformation of the Government of Catalonia, Albert Tort, said: “With this laboratory in orbit, Catalonia is consolidating its position as a benchmark in research. This project not only boosts scientific innovation but also generates opportunities for our country’s technological and industrial ecosystem. From the Government of Catalonia, we will continue to support initiatives like this, which combine cutting-edge research, public-private collaboration and real impact on society”.
The i2CAT director, Sergi Figuerola, highlighted, “6GStarLab is a significant milestone for non-terrestrial network research at European level as it provides a real infrastructure in space that will allow validation of some of the key 6G technologies. This open laboratory, financed with NextGeneration funds, will mark a before and after in our environment in the research of satellite communications and their integration with terrestrial networks”.
6GStarLab presentation ceremony held during the Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2025
i2CAT plans to strengthen research in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and the extension of connectivity through non-terrestrial networks, as well as publish research results for the scientific community. In addition, the 6GStarLab infrastructure will be available to the scientific and technological community interested in exploring and experimenting with the communications of the future, fostering the development of innovative solutions in different sectors and following the roadmap being drawn up by the European Space Agency (ESA) in the field of 6G.
Manufacturing and launching the satellite into orbit
i2CAT has awarded a public contract worth 1.65 million euros to the company Open Cosmos for the design, manufacture, integration, launch and commissioning of the 6GStarLab satellite. At the same time, the satellite will incorporate payloads designed by i2CAT and the Catalan company Microwave Sensors and Electronics (MWSE), which have been developed through 6GSatNet, as well as a space-to-ground optical communication laser terminal and a corresponding ground station from the Singapore-based company Transcelestial. Finally, the set of antennas for radio frequency communications will be developed by the NanoSat Lab group of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). The satellite is scheduled to be launched in October of this year and to be operational for research purposes in early 2026.
Before launch, the satellite will undergo rigorous testing to ensure its proper functioning in orbit. In addition, Open Cosmos will provide a representative engineering model of the satellite to i2CAT to validate the laboratory experiments before its deployment in orbit.
“We are very proud to participate in developing the 6GStarLab satellite, a project that will place Catalonia and Europe at the forefront of space communications. This project is a perfect example of how cooperation between companies, research centres and institutions can accelerate the development of 6G, placing the space segment at the centre of advanced and secure communications for the Earth”, said Rafel Jordà, CEO of Open Cosmos.
Implementing this in-orbit open laboratory has been possible thanks to the funding obtained by i2CAT in the call for the subprogramme of infrastructures and scientific-technical equipment aimed at universities and research centres promoted by the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Civil Service. This sub-programme is part of the Universalisation of Digital Infrastructures for Cohesion (UNICO) R&D 6G programme, promoted by the Spanish Government within the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan and financed with NextGenerationEU funds. It aims to consolidate Spanish leadership in advanced 5G and 6G research. In total, i2CAT has obtained 10 million euros from the infrastructures and scientific-technical equipment subprogramme to deploy several laboratories.
