![\"Technicians](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/cubesat-prep.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>NASA announced a\u00a0new round of opportunities\u00a0for CubeSat, developers to build spacecrafts on\u00a0that will fly on upcoming\u00a0launches through the agency\u2019s\u00a0CSLI (CubeSat Launch Initiative).\u00a0CubeSats are a class of small spacecraft called nanosatellites.<\/p>\n
The initiative<\/a> provides space access to U.S. educational institutions, certain non-profit organizations, and informal educational institutions such as museums and science centers, as well as NASA centers focused on workforce development, including the agency\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in southern California. It also encourages participation by minority serving institutions.<\/p>\n \u201cWorking with CubeSats is a way to get students interested in launching a career in the space industry,\u201d said Jeanie Hall, CSLI program executive at NASA Headquarters in Washington. \u201cNASA reviews applications for CubeSat missions every year and selects projects with an educational component that also can benefit the agency in better understanding education, science, exploration, and technology.\u201d<\/p>\n Applicants must submit proposals<\/a> by 5 p.m. EST, Nov. 15. NASA expects to make selections\u00a0by March 14, 2025, for flight opportunities in 2026-2029, although selection does not guarantee a launch opportunity. Applicants are responsible for funding the development of the small satellites.<\/p>\n Selected CubeSats get assigned a launch and deployment directly from a rocket or to low Earth orbit from the International Space Station. Once accepted, NASA mission managers act as advisors to the CubeSat team, ensuring technical, safety, and regulatory requirements are satisfied before launch. Those selected will strengthen their skills in hardware design and development and build knowledge in operating the CubeSats.<\/p>\n Eight CubeSat missions recently shared a ride to space<\/a> on Firefly Aerospace\u2019s Alpha rocket that launched on July 3 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. One mission is CatSat, built by students at the University of Arizona, which is testing a deployable antenna attached to a Mylar balloon. Another is KUbeSat-1, built by the University of Kansas, is testing a new method of measuring the cosmic rays that hit the Earth. This launch also was notable for two CSLI \u2018first\u2019 milestones. The KUbeSat-1 and another called MESAT-1 were the first CSLI missions from the states of Kansas and Maine respectively.<\/p>\n Four CubeSats also went to the space station as cargo<\/a> in a SpaceX Dragon capsule on March 21 aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida as part of the agency\u2019s SpaceX 30th commercial resupply mission. Once aboard the space station, astronauts deployed the small missions into various orbits to demonstrate and mature technologies meant to improve solar power generation, detect gamma ray bursts, determine crop water usage, and measure root-zone soil and snowpack moisture levels.<\/p>\n CubeSats are a class of spacecraft sized in multiples of a standardized unit called a \u201cU.\u201d A 1-Unit (1U) CubeSat is about 10 x 10 x 11 cm in size (3.9 x 3.9 x 4.5 inches). They are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and can be stacked together to form a slightly larger, more capable spacecraft. A 3U CubeSat is three times the size of a 1U, a 6U is six times the size.<\/p>\n NASA has selected CubeSat missions from 45 states, Washington, and Puerto Rico, and launched about 160 CubeSats since inception.<\/p>\n The CubeSat Launch Initiative is managed by\u00a0NASA\u2019s Launch Services Program\u00a0<\/a>based at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.\u00a0<\/p>\n To learn more information about CSLI, visit:<\/p>\n https:\/\/go.nasa.gov\/CubeSat_initiative<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n -end-<\/p>\n Julian Coltre Laura Aguiar \/ Leejay Lockhart
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
julian.n.coltre@nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-593-6245 \/ 321-747-8310
laura.aguiar@nasa.gov<\/a>\u00a0\/\u00a0leejay.lockhart@nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\nShare<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n