An OHB Facility. Photo: OHB.

German space company OHB and its subsidiary LuxSpace entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with OQ Technology (OQ) to collaborate on a satellite-based IoT upstream and downstream service for energy, agriculture, defense and green economy markets.

LuxSpace’s Triton-X microsatellite platform, which is being developed under the European Space Agency’s ARTES program, will be a critical element of the new collaborative service. OHB said that Triton-X  is “perfectly suited” for accommodating OQ’s 5G IoT payload in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) due to its launch mass of approximately 200 kg, its on-board processing speed, and its optimization for rideshare missions.

“At the completion of the development phase, the Triton-X platform is expected to be ready for manufacturing and integration of payloads by mid-2023,” OHB said in the announcement published Tuesday.

OQ’s satellite system is designed to use standardized 3GPP cellular technology for narrowband IoT and standard mobile chips to connect devices to satellites. OQ launched its first commercial nanosatellite, Tiger-2, last year and used it to successfully test its hybrid satellite-cellular user terminal in harsh desert conditions.

“Being recognized by OHB, one of Germany’s leading space and technology companies, and its subsidiary LuxSpace demonstrates the strength of our technology and the potential it offers to the global IoT market,” Omar Qaise, founder and CEO of OQ Technology said in the announcement.