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Small Satellite Missions

  • Weather 40% Favorable for Today’s Launch at Start of Launch Window

    Astra Rocket 3.3 with TROPICS 1 payload

    Weather officials with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron predict a 40% chance of favorable weather conditions at noon, the start of today’s launch window, with the forecast dropping to 10 percent favorable later in the afternoon. The primary weather concern at the start of the launch window is a Cumulus Cloud Rule …

  • Welcome to Launch Day for TROPICS

    Astra Rocket 3 with TROPICS payload

    Launch day has arrived for NASA’s commercial partner Astra. A pair of small satellites wait atop Astra’s Rocket 3 for liftoff from Space Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This mission will send two-shoebox sized CubeSats to low-Earth orbit. A two-hour launch window opens at noon EDT. This is the …

  • Astra Sets Launch Date for TROPICS

    Astra Space Inc. is targeting no earlier than June 12, pending issuance of a launch license from the Federal Aviation Administration, for the first launch of NASA’s Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS), a constellation of six CubeSats. Two CubeSats, each about the size of a loaf …

  • NASA to Launch Small Satellites on Next SpaceX Cargo Mission

    Middle schoolers are sending their science fair project to space, one of five CubeSats on a ride-share on a Commercial Resupply Services, CRS-25. The CapSat-1 team are three 7th-grade students from the Weiss School in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

    NASA’s Launch Services Program is preparing to send five CubeSats to the International Space Station as part of the ELaNa 45 (Educational Launch of Nanosatellites) mission aboard SpaceX’s 25th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-25) mission for NASA. Liftoff is scheduled for June 7 from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The …

  • NASA Announces 13th Round of Candidates for CubeSat Space Missions

    A map showing the next round of CubeSat Launch Initiative selections for the 2023-2026 timeframe.

    NASA has selected eight small research satellites from seven states to fly as either auxiliary payloads or deployments from the International Space Station (ISS). These missions are currently planned to launch in the 2023-2026 timeframe. The selected CubeSats were proposed by educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, and NASA centers in response to NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) call for proposals issued …

  • ELaNa 41 Mission Update

    Following launch, an in-flight anomaly prevented delivery of the CubeSat payloads on NASA’s Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa 41) mission. Astra’s Rocket 3.3 carrying four small research satellites lifted off at approximately 3 p.m. on Feb. 10 from Space Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. “Missions like these are critical …

  • We Have Liftoff! ELaNa 41 Mission Rockets to Space

    We have liftoff! Astra’s first operational satellite mission launched on the company’s Rocket 3.3 at approximately 1:50 p.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The launch marked the first mission of NASA’s Venture Class Launch Services Demonstration 2 (VCLS Demo 2) contract awarded by the agency’s Launch Services Program, …

  • Weather Favorable for Astra Launch of NASA’s ELaNa 41 Mission

    Astra 3.3 Rocket

    A high pressure system extending into north Florida has brought sunny skies, light winds, and a few clouds over Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Feb. 10, 2022, as Astra plans the launch of its Rocket 3.3 carrying NASA’s Educational Launch of Nanosatellites 41 (ELaNa 41) mission. Space Launch Delta 45 predicts 90 percent favorable weather …

  • Astra To Reschedule ELaNa 41 Launch

    NASA Insignia

    Astra is working to resolve a minor telemetry issue following a scrub of the launch of its Rocket 3.3 from Space Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida Feb. 7. A new date is pending for the launch, which is schedule to carry four CubeSats to space as part of NASA’s …

  • Automatic Abort Triggered Before Launch of CubeSat Mission

    NASA Insignia

    Before the rocket left the launch pad, automatic systems on board Astra’s Rocket 3.3 triggered an abort at approximately 1:50 p.m. EST, delaying launch of NASA’s Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa 41) mission. Astra teams are currently assessing the rocket systems, and they have enough time remaining in the launch window to restart the countdown …