The emergence of the Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) concept in the last years has revolutionized the space industry. This novel network architecture composed of aircraft and spacecraft is currently being standardized by the 3GPP. This standardization process follows dedicated phases in which experimentation of the technology is needed. Although some missions have been conducted to demonstrate specific and service-centric technologies, a open flexible in-orbit infrastructure is demanded to support this standardization process. This work presents the 6GStarLab mission, which aims to address this gap. Specifically, this mission envisions to provide a 6U CubeSat as the main in-orbit infrastructure in which multiple technology validations can be uploaded. The concept of this mission is depicted. Additionally, this work presents the details of the satellite platform and the payload. This last one is designed to enable the experimentation in multiple radio-frequency bands (i.e. UHF, S-, X-, and Ka-bands) and an optical terminal. The launch of the satellite is scheduled for Q2 2025, and it will contribute to the standardization of future NTN architectures.

翻译：近年来，非地面网络（NTN）概念的出现彻底改变了航天产业。这种由航空器与航天器构成的新型网络架构目前正由3GPP进行标准化。该标准化进程遵循需要技术实验验证的特定阶段。尽管已有部分任务展示了特定服务导向的技术，但标准化过程仍需开放灵活的在轨基础设施作为支撑。本研究提出6GStarLab任务，旨在填补这一空白。具体而言，该任务计划以6U立方星作为核心在轨基础设施，支持多种技术验证载荷的上传。本文阐述了该任务的设计理念，并详细介绍了卫星平台及有效载荷的技术细节。其中有效载荷设计支持多频段射频（含UHF、S、X及Ka波段）实验与光学终端验证。卫星计划于2025年第二季度发射，将为未来NTN架构的标准化进程作出贡献。