Lacuna Space says it has successfully tested direct communication between a LoRaWAN device on the ground and a satellite-based LoRaWAN gateway, and aims to launch a fleet of satellites that will provide global LoRaWAN coverage.
The company says it has been collaborating with Semtech Corporation — the inventor of LoRaWAN — over the past two years on the project.
Lacuna Space launched its first satellite — a 6U cubesat provided by Nano Avionics — in April 2019 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in India, where it shared a ride to low earth orbit with EMISAT and 27 other satellites.
It says the satellite and its LoRaWAN gateway payload out-performed expectations during the initial commissioning phase.
Lacuna Space CTO Thomas Telkamp said the company had test systems deployed around the world, in South Africa, Netherlands, UK, USA, India, Japan, Slovenia and the Reunion Island and had demonstrated its ability to communicate effectively from anywhere in the world.
It plans to launch another three satellites in Q3 and Q4 of 2019 and says these will complete its initial demonstration constellation and aims to be ready to perform more extensive demonstrations with a select group of potential users towards the end of the year.
It has received funding and support from the European Space Agency and UK Space Agency. Lacuna is based out of the European Space Agency’s Business Incubation Centre on the Harwell Campus, and has an office in the Netherlands where it works with LoRaWAN organisation the Things Network.
