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The 6GStarLab satellite, the first European open 6G research laboratory in low Earth orbit, is now in space. Last Friday evening, it was launched from SpaceX’s base at Vandenberg, California, and is already orbiting the Earth. The i2CAT Research Centre, under the Presidency Department of the Generalitat of Catalonia, is leading this pioneering mission to validate new communication technologies in real-world environments experimentally. The 6GStarLab will act as an open and flexible testbed for the scientific and technological community, enabling experiments to be deployed and run remotely, promoting innovation in the emerging ecosystem and advancing the interconnection between terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks.
The broadcast of the launch was watched this Tuesday from the Auditorium of the Palau de la Generalitat by the Secretary of Telecommunications and Digital Transformation, Albert Tort; the Spanish Secretary General of Telecommunications and Regulation of Audiovisual Communication Services, Matías González, the Head of Future Projects of the European Space Agency, Xavier Lobao, and the Director of i2CAT, Sergi Figuerola, as well as representatives of companies and entities from the space industrial ecosystem that have participated in the project.
Launch phases of the 6GStarLab satellite
The 6GStarLab was launched into space aboard the Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket, which has been in service since 2018 and has completed over 550 missions. This rocket consists of two parts that work in coordination during launch and orbit insertion. The first part, known as the booster, provides the initial powerful thrust to escape Earth’s atmosphere and, once it reaches the separation point—about 2.5 minutes after liftoff—it detaches from the rest of the rocket. It autonomously returns to Earth for reuse on future missions. The second part, smaller and adapted to space conditions, carries the satellites and mission components and provides the necessary thrust to place them into orbit. Once the 6GStarLab was released, the satellite automatically activated, determined its position in Earth’s orbit, and stabilised to begin operating under optimal conditions. This entire process took around an hour, and it has now stabilised and started its initial operations, as planned. A series of tests will now be carried out to validate the selected technology, and the satellite will be operational for research purposes by the start of the year.
A laboratory for experimentation in non-terrestrial networks
Much of the experimentation at the 6GStarLab will focus on non-terrestrial networks (NTN). These networks use nodes such as satellites or high-altitude platforms to transmit information, complementing traditional terrestrial networks. The integration of terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks creates hybrid networks that improve communication performance and offer a seamless user experience. They are fundamental to reducing the digital divide, facilitating access to essential services worldwide, and paving the way for advanced 5G and future 6G networks.
The integration of terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks is also key to connecting the territory and responding to emergencies. This technology enables high-quality connectivity in rural or isolated areas where traditional infrastructure cannot reach, thereby guaranteeing citizens’ access to services such as telemedicine and distance learning. At the same time, it becomes a vital tool for preventing and mitigating natural disasters, such as wildfires, and for the future of autonomous mobility by ensuring the continuous connectivity of smart vehicles. It will also contribute to the establishment of a new generation of secure communications, which are fundamental for protecting governmental, financial, business, and personal systems against growing cybersecurity threats.
A satellite manufactured entirely in Catalonia
Led by i2CAT, the mission was developed in collaboration with the Catalan space ecosystem. The Catalan research centre awarded a public contract worth €1.65 million to the company Open Cosmos in early 2025 to cover the design, manufacture, integration, launch and commissioning of the 6GStarLab satellite. The satellite was manufactured in record time at Open Cosmos’s cleanroom in Barcelona, a controlled environment for testing and ensuring optimal functionality before launch and deployment into orbit. The 6GStarLab includes high-tech payloads designed by i2CAT and the Catalan company Microwave Sensors and Electronics (MWSE), as well as an antenna suite for radio frequency communications developed by the NanoSat Lab group at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC). The international component was provided by the Singapore-based company Transcelestial, which has incorporated a space-to-ground optical communication laser terminal and its corresponding ground station.
Manufacture of 6GStarLab at the Open Cosmos cleanroom
Ground-based optical station in Mora la Nova
The mission will have an impact beyond space, as it will include a segment in Móra la Nova, in the Terres de l’Ebre, co-financed by the Secretariat for Digital Policies of the Catalan Ministry of Business and Labour as part of the Nuclear Transition Fund. The segment, construction of which will begin this month, will be installed in an area of the Molló industrial estate near the COEbre LAB social innovation laboratory. This infrastructure will control the experiments at the 6GStarLab and will be brought into operation in parallel with the satellite’s operations. Furthermore, it will include a pioneering ground-based optical station in Catalonia that will enable bidirectional laser communications between Earth and space, a key advance for high-speed data transmission. This technology is also a forerunner of future quantum communications.
The 6GStarLab is part of the UNICO I+D 6G programme for the Universalisation of Digital Infrastructures for Cohesion, promoted by the Government of Spain as part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, and funded by NextGenerationEU. At the same time, the mission follows the roadmap being drawn up by the European Space Agency (ESA) in the field of 6G.
