ESA’s HELENA Programme Advances Europe’s Influence in 3GPP NTN Standards
The European Space Agency has issued an update on HELENA ((Highly skillEd sateLlite community mEmbers to drive 3GPP Non-Terrestrial Network stAndardisation), its multi-year effort to ensure satellite communications are fully embedded in the global 3GPP standards roadmap for 5G and 6G Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN). Running from 2023 to 2027, HELENA is now actively shaping 3GPP Release 20 while laying groundwork for Release 21 and future generations of hybrid terrestrial–satellite networks.
HELENA’s core mission is to:
Support all NTN work items across 3GPP Releases 18–20,
Prepare European positions for NTN features in Release 21 and beyond,
Align standardisation with the needs of Europe’s satcom ecosystem, including operators, vendors, and vertical industries.
The programme, run by Thales Alenia Space, and supported by a cast including TNO, the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits, Magister Solutions, NOVAMINT, University of Bologna, Airbus D&S SAS, Eutelsat, Hispasat and Sateliot, aims to secure “native integration” of satellite communications in next-generation mobile systems, ensuring that future 5G-Advanced and 6G networks treat satellites as first-class components rather than optional overlays.
ESA notes that the project focuses on shaping 3GPP outcomes so they translate into tangible commercial opportunities for European satcom companies. This involves:
Developing and submitting technical contributions,
Coordinating industry positions within 3GPP,
Advocating satcom-friendly architectures, waveforms, and deployment models.
HELENA also supports the NTN Forum, which is emerging as a key industry coordination body for satellite–mobile convergence.
According to ESA, HELENA has contributed to all major NTN study and work items in Releases 18 and 19, advanced key features now under evaluation in Release 20, and helped align 3GPP NTN specifications with European industrial capabilities and use-case priorities.
The project will continue adapting its objectives quarterly after each 3GPP plenary through early 2027.
As more operators and device makers adopt 3GPP-compliant NTN spanning D2D satellite messaging, broadband IoT, and future 5G/6G direct-to-device, standardisation leadership directly influences Europe’s access to global markets, multi-vendor ecosystem development, the competitiveness of sovereign satellite infrastructure, and harmonisation across GEO, MEO, and LEO NTN systems.