Our projects

MIMIR

Our Lab in Space

Rocket science for everyone? Almost. Space Norway offers in-orbit test capacity with its Mimir 1 satellite. Mimir 1 is more than just a satellite – it is a laboratory in space.

The satellite supports activities within Earth observation, communications and navigation, where new ideas developed on the ground determines what the satellite does in orbit. Space Norway aims to accelerate innovation through fast, flexible and cost-effective access to space.

Space from earth illustration_ MIMIR project will establish a new space-based infrastructure as a commercial service.
Innovation made faster and easier 

Space Norway plans to make capacity available on Mimir 1 both to other space-industry stakeholders as well as academia. The satellite has therefore been designed for flexibility and ease of use, enabling more companies to test promising ideas in space. The design, construction and launch of satellites is time-consuming, costly and requires specialised expertise. By booking capacity on board Mimir 1, companies with strong ideas for space-based services gain the opportunity to test their concepts before investing in their own satellite development and production. 

The payloads 

The primary payload on board is a Software Defined Radio (SDR) with several different antennas covering a wide frequency range. What makes Mimir 1 unique is that it carries an on-board computer that can be programmed from the ground while the satellite is in orbit. 

For traditional satellites, mission tasks are defined prior to launch and cannot be changed once in orbit. Mimir-1 takes a different approach, serving as a development platform rather than a conventional operational satellite. Flexibility and rapid development are central to the project, enabling Space Norway to support the development of new services and more advanced, better-defined payloads in the future. 

Mimir-1 is Space Norway’s first fully in-house developed satellite, designed, owned, and operated by the company. It was built and integrated by OHB Sweden, with both payloads developed in Norway.

The secondary payload on board is a VDES (VHF Data Exchange System) communications system, developed for data exchange between vessels and satellites or coastal stations. The difference between AIS (Automatic Identification System) and VDES is that VDES enables two-way communication, whereas AIS is limited to one-way transmission. The Mimir payload is expected to make a significant contribution to ESA’s multinational VDES cooperation project. 

Showcasing IoT capabilities via satellite 

The first experiment focuses on satellite-based Internet of Things (IoT) services. Space Norway will test IoT services in new frequency bands on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA). The Mimir project is developing a user interface for planning different types of experiments involving both the satellite and ground terminals.

Space Norway's MIMIR-project satellite illustration