The UFV tests the Wi-Fi Halow protocol in a pioneering project

The European Space Agency has selected the Francisco de Vitoria University (UFV) to be part of the Bless Bexus program, which prepares a crucial test for the promising Wi-Fi Halow protocol (IEEE 802.11ah).

The program REXUS/BEXUS, fruit of the collaboration between the German Space Agency (DLR), the Swedish Space Agency (SNSA) and the European Space Agency (ESA), offers European university students a plataforma experimental top level to develop and validate technology in conditions close to those of a space mission. In the case of BEXUS, The experiments travel aboard a stratospheric balloon capable of ascending to the 30 kilometers of altitude, subjecting payloads to extreme pressure and temperature conditions.

The project with which UFV has been selected is called BLESS (BEXUS HaLow Evaluation in Stratospheric Systems). Its objective is to carry out the first in-flight characterization of the protocol Wi-Fi HaLow (IEEE 802.11ah) in the stratosphere, in order to analyze how this technology behaves during the ascend y Assess resiliency of commercial hardware in extreme environmental conditions.

The experiment seeks to fill a relevant technological gap: although he Internet of Things requires reliable communication standards that connect terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks, the Wi-Fi HaLow protocol, especially promising for its length range, does not yet have validation in aerospace environments. The mission of BLESS is to provide this knowledge and establish a reference for vertical link quality with potential future application in high altitude platforms and satellites.

After this selection, The project now faces a schedule of reviews and validation phases that will culminate with the flight campaign scheduled for october 2026 in sweden. The team that will carry out this project is made up of students from the Francisco de Vitoria University with different engineering profiles., among them Computer Engineering, mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering and Artificial Intelligence Systems.