Nokia is jettisoning its newly named Modul8 Space Communications Solution venture into an independent company that the telecom equipment giant said will allow the entity to take advantage of the fast-moving “space economy.”

The Modul8 venture has been operating within Nokia’s Bell Labs and was behind the deployment of a cellular network on the moon last year. That deployment was followed by work with Axiom Space to develop 4G-enabled spacesuits.

Nokia linked that success to a need for the venture to take advantage of new financial opportunities while still having access to the equipment vendor’s technology base.

“Sometimes the fastest way to unlock an innovation’s full potential is to give it room to grow with an ecosystem of partners and with support of external capital,” Chris Jones, VP of strategic partnerships at Nokia, noted in a blog post. “The proposed path for Modul8 follows that playbook: pair the right team and technology with a structure built to scale, while keeping the Nokia Bell Labs DNA of pushing boundaries.”

The current plan is for Modul8 to gain its freedom by “early summer.”

Jones added that despite the pending Modul8 launch, “Nokia will continue to play an important role as space and non-terrestrial connectivity (NTN) are increasingly important to future networks, including 6G, because they can extend coverage and resilience by integrating satellites with terrestrial networks.”

“Nokia remains actively involved in space where it supports its core business and customers, including work on NTN,” Jones added.

Nokia’s move aligns with a broader corporate restructure initiated late last year targeted at scoring $3.2 billion in profits by 2028. That move included the vendor splitting its operational model into two primary operating segments: Network Infrastructure and Mobile Infrastructure, and included the departure of long-time mobile president Tommi Uitto.

Nokia at that time also established a separate Portfolio Businesses unit integrating its fixed-wireless access (FWA) and site implementation businesses, as well as its Enterprise Campus Edge and Microwave Radio verticals. The vendor also formed its Nokia Defense incubation unit to leverage the U.S.-based Nokia Federal Solutions segment and aimed at expansion in the U.S., Finland, and other allied nations to provide defense-grade solutions from both of its consolidated units.