cubesat
NASA seeks to purchase cubesat buses
NASA plans to purchase as many as five cubesat buses it will use to demonstrate new technologies while also stimulating the emerging smallsat industry.
Spaceflight offers smallsat launch services on government contract schedule
A Seattle company that provides launch services for small satellites is now able to sell to U.S. government agencies through a standard contract schedule.
Experimental NASA Cubesat Suffers Attitude Control Problem
The attitude control problem is preventing the Optical Communications and Sensor Demonstration (OCSD) spacecraft's laser communications payload from being tested.
NASA Developing Solar-sailing Cubesats for Inaugural SLS Launch
NASA is developing a pair of solar-sailing, science-collecting cubesats that will hitch a ride on the Space Launch System’s inaugural July 2018 launch.
Asteroid-mining Company’s 1st Spacecraft Deploys
The International Space Station deployed a three-unit cubesat from its satellite dispenser for a 90-day mission meant help an aspiring asteroid-mining company make progress toward its long-term goal of extracting resources from space rocks.
Spire Raises $40 Million For Weather Satellite Constellation
Spire, a company developing a constellation of cubesats to provide weather data to commercial and government customers, announced June 30 it has raised $40 million to complete work on the satellites and begin launching them later this year.
Government Agencies Differ on Use, Usefulness of Cubesats
As interest in the use of cubesats continues to grow, U.S. government agencies are taking very different approaches regarding their use, with some openly embracing them as useful scientific tools and others more skeptical about their effectiveness.
NOAA Cubesat Caught in Crossfire Between Congress, White House
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s plan to launch an experimental weather cubesat in 2016 is in doubt because the agency staked funding for the effort to a program that fared poorly in recent budget bills.
In NASA First, Cubesats Headed to Mars with InSight Lander
Two tiny cubesats, the first NASA plans to send to another planet, will keep watch on the agency’s InSight mission as it descends to the Martian surface in September 2016, an agency official said June 9.
Planetary Society Has a Year To Iron Wrinkles out of Solar Sail Mission
The Planetary Society has roughly a year to digest lessons from its successful but far form perfect solar sail deployment before the 2016 launch of its second LightSail satellite.
Scotland Lures Smallsat Builder Spire to Glasgow with Grant
Small-satellite builder Spire of San Francisco has received a grant from the Scottish government to build nano-satellite design and production plant in Glasgow that will create 50 new jobs.
Editorial | NASA Venture Class Procurement Could Nurture, Ride Small Sat Trend
NASA in recent years has demonstrated a willingness to embrace innovations in the space industry to everyone’s benefit, hosted payloads being one example. The latest case in point is its proposed Venture Class Launch Services procurement, in which the agency is attempting to simultaneously leverage and support the ongoing cubesat revolution.
LightSail Finally Deploys Solar Sail
After overcoming a battery problem that kept the spacecraft silent for several days, the Planetary Society’s LightSail spacecraft unfurled its solar sail June 7, the organization reported.
LightSail Deployment Delayed as Craft Again Falls Silent
Despite earlier optimism, the Planetary Society postponed the planned June 5 deployment of the LightSail spacecraft's solar sail after communications with the craft fell silent for the second time June 4.
Op-ed | NASA’s Cube Quest Challenge: The Future in a Shoebox
Cubesats, the complete satellite platform that fits in a shoebox, offer unique advantages and interesting opportunities. This satellite platform is measured in millimeters and grams, dollars and cents.
