Smart Parks has been looking at the effort of the German based Max Planck Society to establish a new IoT from space network capability for years. With the usual struggles of establishing a global satellite network, it now looks to have found a new way of getting the network operational in 2025 / 2026.
The original Icarus system, hosted on the International Space Station, was developed in collaboration with the Russian space agency, Roscosmos. However, all research projects with Russia were halted at the onset of the war in Ukraine, including Icarus. Now, a partnership between the Max Planck Society and German NewSpace startup Talos has launched Icarus 2.0. The 4-year partnership will give Icarus its own independently-operated and dedicated fleet of at least five CubeSats in low Earth orbit.