ESA, through its European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), has selected Lithuania’s Kongsberg NanoAvionics (NanoAvionics) to build a large cubesat platform for its in-orbit demonstration/in-orbit validation (IOD/IOV) programme.
Under the project name IHE1-5 Cubesat, NanoAvionics, a leading small satellite bus manufacturer and mission integrator, will build a 12-16U IOD/IOV spacecraft. In particular, the company will be responsible for the design, assembly, integration, testing, ground segment, and operations of the satellite. The spacecraft will house various payloads from European entities to be demonstrated and validated in-orbit.
ESA has already pre-selected eight potential payloads from over 50 potential candidates for this mission. The final selection of the IOD/IOV experiments will be completed after the system definition review during the coming months.
IOD/IOV is a European Union programme, entrusted to the European Space Agency, and part of the Horizon Europe Work Programmes. It will demonstrate innovative technologies and operational concepts to foster the use of space data for scientific, public, or commercial purposes as a final step before placing them on the market.
While the launch date and launch provider have not been announced yet, the satellite is confirmed to send into orbit through the European Flight Ticket Initiative using exclusively European manufactured launch vehicles.
