The significance of space-based services has increased remarkably in recent years due to the latest success in deploying innovative technologies in space. Yet, due to their novelty, it is essential to demonstrate the functionality and robustness of these technologies and innovative approaches directly in space under real operational conditions. However, this still poses a difficulty today, as the opportunities of such in-orbit demonstrations are not readily available to researchers and developers without significant lead time and costs. The Universität der Bundeswehr München (UniBw M) has been performing innovative development and research work on a variety of relevant topics for spaceflight and space-based services ever since. While predominantly lab-based in the past, as a next step towards a responsive and more agile research and development process, an in-orbit demonstration and testing program is implemented. In the core of this program, UniBw M conducts its own mission for technology demonstration called Seamless Radio Access Network for Internet of Space (SeRANIS), scheduled to launch in 2025. The project SeRANIS aims to provide a rapidly deployed multi-functional space mission with a large number of innovative experiments (>15) on a small satellite in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). SeRANIS acts as an open and highly innovative environment to explore, test, and establish new approaches to manage and execute project related aspects in order to comply with the strict timeline and resources available. The mission itself offers a high-level scientific framework for researchers to investigate, assess, develop, and demonstrate novel methods and technologies in space and on ground. Among the scientific areas are advancements in the field of space communications including broadband communications and Internet of Things (IoT), radio science, and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) technologies. Furthermore, high-level Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based autonomy, Earth observation in visual and Infrared (IR) wavelength, object detection algorithms, payload operation concepts, modern structures, innovative system-health-monitoring techniques, and electrical-propulsion will be demonstrated in space. This paper provides an introduction into the SeRANIS project and its scope that follows a Hybrid Space approach and development process. The Hybrid Space approach combines Conventional and New Space philosophies to ensure access to space with short lead times, resources available, and high complexity in terms of amount of payload involved. Moreover, the short timeline of the project and its platform selection process are outlined. Furthermore, mission aspects including the objectives, architecture, baseline system design, orbit selection, and operations planning are described. Nevertheless, a description of each experimental setup elaborated within the SeRANIS project is introduced.    «

The significance of space-based services has increased remarkably in recent years due to the latest success in deploying innovative technologies in space. Yet, due to their novelty, it is essential to demonstrate the functionality and robustness of these technologies and innovative approaches directly in space under real operational conditions. However, this still poses a difficulty today, as the opportunities of such in-orbit demonstrations are not readily available to researchers and developer...    »