Satellite Project Launched to Test 5G Connectivity from Space

A new era is beginning in the history of the domestic space industry and telecommunications technology: the RAVEN (Resilient Access Validation for Evolving NTN) satellite project, a strategically important initiative by a Hungarian consortium, has been launched.

Szabolcs Szolnoki, Deputy State Secretary for Technology, Space and Defense, announced at a press conference in Budapest on Thursday that the project is part of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Hungarian Ministry for National Economy’s 2025 ARTES (Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems) Call in Hungary.

The program is closely aligned with global industry efforts to integrate terrestrial and space-based communication networks.

It is being implemented entirely in cooperation with Hungarian industrial and academic players, with C3S Kft. leading the consortium.

The deputy state secretary emphasized that an essential element of the RAVEN project is the involvement of new players in the space industry. Domestic partners include Molaris Kft. and Obuda University, and a leading Hungarian multinational telecommunications company is also in the process of joining.

Gyula Horváth, managing director of the consortium leader C3S Kft., said that the company is responsible for the design, development, and integration of the 8U CubeSat system, as well as for mission planning and satellite operation tasks. The company employs nearly 70 people, including almost 60 engineers.

He explained that the mission will address the Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) technology, as defined in 5G standards.

NTN communication as defined in 5G is a world first, allowing subscribers to terrestrial public mobile networks to connect to each other via base stations located in the space segment.

This approach complements terrestrial networks where their coverage is limited or cannot be economically deployed, and can therefore be particularly significant in uninhabited or hard-to-reach areas, during natural disasters, and in supporting future autonomous systems and global IoT applications. RAVEN is demonstrating the technology on an 8U CubeSat platform.

The satellite provides an opportunity to study the integration of terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks and to test 3GPP-based solutions in a real space environment. The mission will focus on

• the precise timing of data transmission,
• the analysis of signal propagation delays resulting from long distances, and
• the development and validation of algorithms to ensure network synchronization and stable connection establishment.

The project will start in 2026, with the satellite expected to be launched in 2028, followed by 5G/6G NTN demonstration experiments in a real space environment. RAVEN provides an opportunity for Hungary to become an active contributor to the development of satellite 5G technologies, said the managing director. The results of the project could also contribute to the standardization and industrial introduction of NTN solutions at the international level, he emphasized.

Via MTI, Featured image: Pexels

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