Launch Services Program

NASA CubeSats Launch as Commercial Rideshares

A pair of CubeSats from NASA’s Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator, or PTD, series lifted off on SpaceX’s Transporter-11 rideshare mission at 11:56 a.m. PDT Friday, August 16, from Vandenburg Space Force Base in California.

Posted August 19, 2024

CubeSats

For Colleges & Universities

Learning Resources

Space Operations Mission Directorate

NASA Seeks Student Missions to Send to Space in 2026, Beyond

NASA announced a new round of opportunities for CubeSat, developers to build spacecrafts on that will fly on upcoming launches through the agency’s CSLI (CubeSat Launch Initiative). CubeSats are a class of small spacecraft called nanosatellites. The initiative provides space access to U.S.

Posted August 6, 2024

Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS)

Joint Agency Satellite Division

NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

Science Mission Directorate

NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for NOAA’s JPSS-4 Mission

NASA, on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has selected SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corporation) to provide launch services for NOAA’s JPSS-4 mission. The spacecraft is part of the multi-satellite cooperative Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) program, a partnership between NASA and NOAA.

Posted July 23, 2024

CubeSats

Missions

NASA CubeSat Launches as Rideshare on ESA’s First Ariane 6 Rocket

NASA launched CURIE (CubeSat Radio Interferometry Experiment) as a rideshare payload on the inaugural flight of ESA’s (European Space Agency) Ariane 6 rocket, which launched at 4 p.m. GFT on July 9 from Europe’s Spaceport, the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, in French Guiana. Designed by a team from the University of California, Berkeley, CURIE […]

Posted July 11, 2024

Ames Research Center

CubeSats

Johnson Space Center

Eight CubeSats Lift Off for NASA on Firefly Aerospace Rocket!

As part of NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative, Firefly Aerospace launched eight small satellites on July 3 aboard the company’s Alpha rocket. Named “Noise of Summer,” the rocket successfully lifted off from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 9:04 p.m. PDT.

Posted July 4, 2024

Ames Research Center

CubeSats

Johnson Space Center

NASA’s ELaNa 43 Prepares for Firefly Aerospace Launch

NASA is readying for the launch of several small satellites to space, built with the help of students, educators, and researchers from across the country, as part of the agency’s CubeSat Launch Initiative.

Posted June 21, 2024

Virtual Guest Program

NASA Invites Public to Share Excitement of NOAA GOES-U Launch

NASA invites the public to participate in virtual activities and events leading up to the launch of the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) GOES-U (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-U) mission. NASA is targeting a two-hour window opening at 5:16 p.m.

Posted June 21, 2024

CubeSats

NASA CubeSats Loaded for Launch

Eight CubeSats that are part of NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative have been integrated into Firefly Aerospace’s deployment hardware and are ready to be encapsulated into the payload fairing of Firefly’s Alpha rocket. The launch, named “Noise of Summer,” will lift off early this summer from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in […]

Posted June 20, 2024

GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite)

Missions

NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

NASA Sets Launch Coverage for NOAA Weather Satellite

NASA will provide live coverage of prelaunch and launch activities for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) GOES-U (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite U) mission. The two-hour launch window opens at 5:16 p.m.

Posted June 18, 2024

PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment)