B2.6 Minarió Mission: A testbed for validating NTN NB-IoT connectivity and applications

Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) connectivity using non-terrestrial networks (NTN) is an emerging technology that enables seamless global connectivity through a unified and standardized communication system compliant with the 3GPP standard. To fully assess its capabilities and ensure proper integration it is essential to validate its performance under real in-orbit conditions. Additionally, demonstrating concrete use cases is crucial for understanding the potential applications of NTN NB-IoT technology across various industries. The Minairó Mission is part of the NewSpace strategy promoted by the Generalitat de Catalunya, aiming to boost the space ecosystem in the region while acting as a catalyst for this strategic sector. Led by i2CAT, this mission will enable the validation of new telecommunications services and technologies, with focus on testing a NB-IoT connectivity system based on non-terrestrial networks in low Earth orbit. The mission started in March 2025, leveraging one of the four satellites of the SIC4 constellation deployed by Sateliot in 2024. SIC-4 is a four-satellite constellation of 6U Cubesats that has successfully performed, for first time, end-to-end NTN NB-IoT connectivity tests using the NB-IoT infrastructure onboard the satellites as communication nodes, in conjunction with user equipment devices deployed across the Spanish territory. The primary goal of the Minairó mission is to deploy pilot tests across the Catalan territory utilizing this pioneering NTN NB-IoT technology developed by Sateliot to further validate its performance while demonstrating its potential applications and providing service to various use cases. Another technology under evaluation for this mission is the Flexible Payload, a novel and reconfigurable payload mechanism developed by Fundació i2CAT, where onboard features and functionalities can be dynamically adjusted in real time through software updates. This adaptability enhances operational capability by allowing the satellite to adapt to evolving mission requirements and user demands without necessitating physical hardware modifications. The mission will also incorporate and test the Constellation Management System (CMS), a task scheduling framework developed at Fundació i2CAT for optimizing integrated satellite and network operations scenarios. Finally, the mission will also validate a robust, delay-tolerant communication bundle protocol designed to ensure reliable data transmission in NTN, addressing the intermittency challenges of space-based communication. The final paper will provide a detailed description of the Minairó mission, its primary goals and the payload design. Additionally, it will present the experimental results from the end-to-end NTN NB-IoT test campaign and will highlight the outcomes of the use cases conducted during the initial months of the mission.