Lockheed Martin Will Launch 5G Network Charging Next Year

JAKARTA Lockheed Martin, aerospace company in the United States, will launch a 5G connectivity payload into orbit. The plan, this payload will be launched next year.

From theSpacenews report, Deputy President Lockheed Martin Dan Rice, who holds the 5G or 5G.MIL connectivity program, said the company had been completed with simulations of their payload laboratories and the results were pretty good.

This laboratory demonstration simulation was carried out last month by building a hybrid network for land, air and space domains. During testing, the satellite base station managed to connect and move the data to ground devices.

With the success of this simulation, Lockheed Martin is increasingly confident in launching payloads and satellites to Low Earth Orbit (LEO). They will demonstrate the best connectivity from space.

Rice claims that this payload will be the industry's first regenerative 5G satellite base for non-terrestrial networks. This payload will bring satellite-based direct communication capabilities and pass through terrestrial networks if needed.

Despite being claimed to be sophisticated, Rice explained that the cargo developed with open radio access uses a network that has complied with the 3rd Generation Partnership Project industry standard (3GPP) release 17.

For information, the 5G.MIL program has been in the works since 2020. This program is a request from the military to provide high-speed wireless communications so Lockheed plans to expand their cellular technology into space.

Currently, they are considering using 5G payloads as private networks. The network will still be purchased by the Department of Defense according to the initial agreement, but they also plan to offer this payload to commercial cellular network operators.