The European Space Agency (ESA), together with Airbus Defence and Space, Eutelsat OneWeb, and industry partners, has achieved a major milestone in the integration of terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks by successfully performing a 5G New Radio (NR) signal handover to a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation. Conducted at ESA’s 5G/6G Telecom Lab in the Netherlands, the test demonstrated the feasibility of maintaining reliable service connectivity between ground and satellite systems using a newly developed Conditional Handover protocol. This innovation resolves previous challenges of degraded performance in 5G satellite handovers, enabling faster, more consistent, and globally available coverage for future 5G-Advanced networks.
The test builds on a Memorandum of Intent signed in September between ESA, Airbus, and Eutelsat OneWeb to advance 5G satellite technologies under ESA’s Space for 5G/6G programme. Supported by MediaTek, Sharp, Rohde & Schwarz, and ITRI, the demonstration highlights ESA’s drive to strengthen European leadership in 5G non-terrestrial networks (NTN) and promote the commercial adoption of space-based communications.