Luxembourg's Odysseus Space and University Sign Japan Pact on Satellite Laser Links

Japan's national research institute for information and communications has formally tied its space-communications work to Luxembourg's growing cluster of laser-link specialists, in a pair of agreements that pull a Grand Duchy start-up and the national university into joint experiments on optical satellite connections.

The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) announced on 21 May 2026 that it had signed a collaborative research agreement with the Luxembourg-based start-up Odysseus Space and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the University of Luxembourg. Both documents were signed on 4 May 2026 at Luxembourg's Prime Minister's Office, according to NICT.

Two deals, signed in the presence of ministers

The collaborative research agreement was signed by Dr. Hideo Ohno, President of NICT, and Dr. Jordan Vannitsen, co-founder and chief executive of Odysseus Space. The MoU with the university was signed by Dr. Ohno and Prof. Marie-Hélène Jobin, the institution's Vice Rector for Partnerships and International Relations.

The signing carried a notable level of political backing. According to NICT, it took place in the presence of H.E. Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japan's Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications, and H.E. Stéphanie Obertin, Luxembourg's Minister for Digitalisation and Minister for Research and Higher Education — a sign that the cooperation is being framed as a state-level link between Luxembourg's NewSpace optical-communications scene and Japan's research base.

Joint experiments on space-to-ground laser links

The core of the Odysseus Space agreement is hands-on testing. NICT said the two parties intend to combine their respective hardware in orbit and on the ground to prove that their systems can work together.

NICT and Odysseus Space plan to conduct joint experiments on optical satellite-to-ground communications, leveraging their respective space and ground assets to enable interoperability.

In practice, that means demonstrating high-speed optical links between space and the ground using the space terminals and optical ground stations operated by both NICT and Odysseus Space. Optical, or laser, communication promises far higher data rates than conventional radio links, but it requires precisely aligned terminals and a network of ground stations to capture the beams.

Odysseus Space, founded in Luxembourg in 2019 and led by Dr. Vannitsen, specialises in exactly this space-to-Earth laser communication. Its Cyclops product is offered as "Laser Communication as a Service" on a subscription model with no upfront cost, providing data retrieval of up to 10 Gbps and as much as 1 TB per day through a network of optical ground stations.

A broader research agenda with the university

The MoU with the University of Luxembourg is wider in scope. According to NICT, it covers a range of ICT fields centred on space communications and non-terrestrial networks (NTN).

The scope of cooperation under the MoU covers a wide range of ICT fields centered on space communications and NTN, including satellite constellations, optical Earth-to-space communication links, AI for space systems, and network orchestration.

On the Luxembourg side, much of that work runs through the university's Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT), which conducts research on AI, quantum communications, advanced networking and signal processing for next-generation space communications and NTN in the Beyond 5G and 6G context.

Why it matters

For Luxembourg, the agreements extend a long-running national strategy of positioning the country as a hub for space services, now with optical communications at the centre rather than the broadcast and connectivity satellites that built its reputation. For NICT, the partnership offers a European testbed and an industrial partner for the kind of cross-border interoperability that any future global laser-communications network will require. The next milestone will be the joint experiments themselves, which the parties have committed to but for which NICT has not yet published a timeline.