IoT satellite operator OQ Technology said it has come closer to its goal of providing commercial Internet-of-things and machine-to-machine services with the launch of its Tiger-2 satellite aboard the SpaceX Transporter-2 rideshare mission organised by Spaceflight. The operator also cut its fourth European Space Agency (ESA) contract for a 5G agile network configuration via satellite, installed a new ground station in Luxembourg and established a LEO Constellation Control Centre.
Tiger-2 is the company’s first commercial nanosatellite. OQ Technology is aiming for a constellation of over 60 spacecraft, so that it can provide IoT services in remote and rural areas. Tiger-2 will be followed by MACSAT, an ESA-supported agile nanosatellite mission dedicated to IoT in low Earth orbit (LEO). The satellite was funded by the Luxembourg government through an ESA contract in the Luxembourg National Space programme (LuxIMPULSE).
OQ Technology won the European tender with ESA under the Artes programme, to provide the technical design and development of a system to address advanced 5G network configurations over LEO, MEO and GEO satellites. For this fourth contract with ESA, OQ Technology will lead a consortium made of the Sigcom research group in the Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT), University of Luxembourg, and Italian ground segment as-a-service company Leaf Space.
OQ Technology has already contracted Leaf Space to procure and install a satellite ground station and connect it to its LEO Constellation Control Centre in Leudelange, Luxembourg. The Leaf Space ground station, together with its satellite operations capabilities, will be set up in Bascharage, Luxembourg, a few km away from its LEO CCC. The company has started furnishing the control centre with essential equipment needed to monitor and operate satellites.
OQ Technology said its services will be mainly targeted at customers with a focus on Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas.
