Editing CubeSat (section)

{{Short description|Miniature satellite in 10 cm cube modules}}
[[File:Ncube2.jpg|thumb|[[nCube (satellite)|Ncube-2]], a Norwegian CubeSat ({{cvt|10|cm}} cube)]]
A '''CubeSat''' is a class of [[small satellite]] with a form factor of {{cvt|10|cm}} cubes.<ref>[https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5418c831e4b0fa4ecac1bacd/t/56e9b62337013b6c063a655a/1458157095454/cds_rev13_final2.pdf CubeSat Design Specification Rev. 13], The CubeSat Program, Cal Poly SLO</ref> CubeSats have a mass of no more than {{cvt|2|kg}} per unit,<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5418c831e4b0fa4ecac1bacd/t/5f24997b6deea10cc52bb016/1596234122437/CDS+REV14+2020-07-31+DRAFT.pdf |title=Cubesat Design Specification |publisher=[[California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo|Cal Poly SLO]] |year=2020 |location=[[San Luis Obispo]] |pages=12}}</ref> and often use [[commercial off-the-shelf]] (COTS) components for their [[electronics]] and structure. CubeSats are deployed into orbit from the [[International Space Station]], or launched as [[secondary payload]]s on a [[launch vehicle]].<ref name='database'/> {{As of|2023|December}}, more than 2,300 CubeSats have been launched.<ref name="auto">{{cite web |title=Nanosatellite & CubeSat Database |first=Erik |last=Kulu |date=28 August 2020 |url=https://www.nanosats.eu/ |access-date=5 January 2024}}</ref>

In 1999, [[California Polytechnic State University]] (Cal Poly) professor [[Jordi Puig-Suari]] and [[Bob Twiggs]], a professor at [[Stanford University]] Space Systems Development Laboratory, developed the CubeSat specifications to promote and develop the skills necessary for the design, manufacture, and testing of small satellites intended for [[low Earth orbit]] (LEO) that perform scientific research and explore new space technologies. Academia accounted for the majority of CubeSat launches until 2013, when more than half of launches were for non-academic purposes, and by 2014 most newly deployed CubeSats were for commercial or amateur projects.<ref name='database'/>

[[File:Nanosats years launched 2024-12-31.svg|thumb|Yearly launched CubeSats as of December 2024<ref>{{Cite web| title = Nanosatellites by launch years | url = https://nanosats.eu| website = nanosats.eu| access-date = 2025-02-21}}</ref>]]

Functions typically involve experiments that can be miniaturized or serve purposes such as [[Earth observation]] or [[Amateur radio satellite|amateur radio]]. CubeSats are employed to demonstrate spacecraft technologies intended for small satellites or that present questionable feasibility and are unlikely to justify the cost of a larger satellite. Scientific experiments with unproven underlying theory may also find themselves aboard CubeSats because their low cost can justify higher risks. Biological research payloads have been flown on several missions, with more planned.<ref name=abio>{{Cite web|author=Prachi Patel |date=2010-07-12 |title=Tiny Satellites for Big Science |url=http://www.astrobio.net/news-exclusive/tiny-satellites-for-big-science/ |website=Astrobiology Magazine |access-date=2015-10-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120032126/http://www.astrobio.net/news-exclusive/tiny-satellites-for-big-science/ |archive-date=2020-11-20 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Several missions to the [[Moon]] and beyond are planning to use CubeSats.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Tiny Cubesats Set to Explore Deep Space|url = http://www.space.com/29306-cubesats-deep-space-exploration.html|website = Space.com| date=11 May 2015 |access-date = 2015-10-20}}</ref> The first CubeSats in deep space were flown in the [[Mars Cube One|MarCO]] mission, where two CubeSats were launched towards Mars in May 2018 alongside the successful ''[[InSight]]'' mission.<ref name="NYT-2010318">{{cite news |last=Stirone |first=Shannon |title=Space Is Very Big. Some of Its New Explorers Will Be Tiny. – The success of NASA's MarCO mission means that so-called cubesats likely will travel to distant reaches of our solar system. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/18/science/cubesats-marco-mars.html |date=18 March 2019 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=18 March 2019 }}</ref>

Some CubeSats have become [[Timeline of first artificial satellites by country|countries' first-ever satellites]], launched either by universities, state-owned, or private companies. The searchable ''Nanosatellite and CubeSat Database'' lists over 4,000 CubeSats that have been or are planned to be launched since 1998.<ref name="auto"/>