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Small Satellite Missions

    NASA Selects University Nanosatellite Program Summer Series Winners

    A pair of students install a solar array panel during the flight assembly of LightCube.

    NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) has partnered with the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force to select eight schools for the University Nanosatellite Program (UNP) Mission Concepts-1: 2023 Summer Series. Running from May through August, the program provides students with systems engineering training, preparing them to work in the space industry while simultaneously enhancing …

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    Small Satellites Playing Larger Role in Science Investigations

    The Low-Latitude Ionosphere/Thermosphere Enhancements in Density (LLITED) mission will measure and study two features of the upper atmosphere: the equatorial temperature and wind anomaly (ETWA) that occurs in the neutral atmosphere, and the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) that occurs in the region containing charged particles.

    Editor’s note: This article was updated on April 4 to provide the latest target launch date information. NASA is announcing two small CubeSats missions to launch on a commercial dedicated rideshare flight as part of the agency’s Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) initiative, which helps advance scientific and human exploration, as well as reduce the …

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    Team Troubleshoots Propulsion for NASA’s Lunar Flashlight

    Teams are continuing work to place NASA’s Lunar Flashlight CubeSat in an orbit that would allow flights over the Moon’s South Pole. The opportunity to place Lunar Flashlight in such an orbit extends through the end of April. Shortly after launch on Dec. 11, 2022, the operations team for NASA’s Lunar Flashlight determined that three …

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    ELaNa 50: What’s on Board?

    LightCube team members inspect the CubeSat prior to integration into the deployer. From left to right: David Ordaz Perez, Chandler Hutchens, Sam Cherian, Christopher McCormick, Ashley Lepham, Raymond Barakat.

    On NASA’s next Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) mission, a pair of small satellites, called CubeSats, will hitch a ride on SpaceX’s 27th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station for NASA. The ELaNa 50 complement of CubeSats will launch aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 and Dragon spacecraft this March, from Launch Complex …

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    NASA Eyes New Lunar CubeSat Orbit, Propulsion Challenges Continue

    NASA’s Lunar Flashlight CubeSat launched on Dec. 11, 2022, to demonstrate several new technologies with a stretch science goal of detecting surface ice at the Moon’s South Pole. Shortly into Lunar Flashlight’s journey, the mission operations team discovered three of its four thrusters were underperforming. Among the steps taken to analyze the issue and find …

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    NASA Awards Phantom Launch Services Task Order for CSLI Mission

    NASA

    NASA has awarded Phantom Space Corp. four task orders to launch four CubeSat Launch Initiative missions as part of the agency’s Venture-class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) launch services contract. The CubeSats will launch no earlier than 2024 on Phantom’s Daytona rocket. Building on NASA’s previous procurement efforts to foster development of new launch …

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    Educational CubeSats Set to Launch to the Space Station

    A group of high school students work on their CubeSat, TJREVERB.

    Four small, shoebox-sized satellites are being prepared to launch to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) 49 mission. The small satellites, called CubeSats, will study a range of topics – from satellite communication methods to space weather to testing technology for robotic assembly of large telescopes. The CubeSats …

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    Two CubeSats Set to Launch on ELaNa 39 Mission

    Two small NASA-sponsored research satellites, or CubeSats, are preparing to launch on Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket as part of the agency’s Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) 39 mission. The rocket, attached to the underside of the company’s Cosmic Girl aircraft, will be air launched when the 747-aircraft reaches its specified altitude over the Pacific Ocean. …

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    TROPICS Mission Update

    After a nominal first stage flight, the upper stage of the rocket shut down early and failed to deliver the TROPICS CubeSats to orbit. NASA’s Launch Services Program, who managed the launch service for the mission, continues to work with emerging launch providers to deliver low-cost science missions into orbit through contracts that align with …

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    Liftoff!

    Two TROPICS CubeSats have lifted off atop an Astra Rocket 3 from Space Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida today, June 12, 2022. Launch occurred at approximately 1:43 p.m. EDT.

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