CubeSat
Also known as: CubeSats, cube satellite
A CubeSat is a small satellite built to a standard size: units of 10 by 10 by 10 centimetres, called '1U,' which can be combined into larger sizes such as 3U or 6U.
Standardization lets CubeSats use off-the-shelf parts and ride into orbit alongside bigger missions. While early CubeSats were mostly student projects, they now support commercial Earth imaging, communications, and even missions to the Moon and Mars.
CubeSat, explained at three levels
At home
Think of shipping containers: because every container is the same size, any ship or crane can handle it. CubeSats apply that idea to satellites. Each is built from 10-centimetre cube units, so it fits a standard spring-loaded box that rides on a bigger rocket. Because the size is fixed, builders can buy ready-made parts, and a student team can build one for far less than a traditional satellite.
At work
A CubeSat is a small satellite built to a public size standard, from one 10-centimetre unit up to 12 or more. The standard lets companies buy off-the-shelf parts and book cheap rideshare launches. Businesses use CubeSats to test new technology in space, collect Earth images, relay data from remote sensors, and build constellations without the hundreds of millions a traditional satellite costs.
At home
Inside a CubeSat are the same systems as any satellite, just shrunk: solar panels and batteries for power, a small radio and antenna, a flight computer, and a payload such as a camera. Magnetorquers or tiny reaction wheels point it in the right direction. Sizes are counted in units: a 1U cube weighs up to about two kilograms, while 3U and 6U versions are larger. They launch inside dispensers that push them into orbit with a spring.
At work
A CubeSat mission has three layers. The bus, often bought from suppliers such as GomSpace or EnduroSat, provides power, attitude control, computing, and radio. The payload does the actual job: an imager, a radio-frequency receiver, or an IoT data relay. The ground segment, owned or rented from services such as AWS Ground Station, downloads data during short passes overhead. Because each satellite is small, operators fly constellations for frequent coverage, as Planet does with its Doves.
At home
Small size limits everything that scales with area: solar panels deliver only a few to tens of watts, antennas are small, and camera optics are short, so resolution and data rates are modest. Most CubeSats fly low and lack big thrusters, so they re-enter within a few years. While a CubeSat can't match a large satellite, in my view its strength is that you can afford to build ten, lose two, and still finish the mission.
At work
Engineering risks include radiation damage to commercial-grade electronics, extreme temperature swings, and tumbling after deployment. Historically, a large share of first-time university missions failed early, often from power or radio faults, so flatsat testing, thermal vacuum tests, and simple designs matter. Regulatory steps include spectrum licensing through ISED Canada and the ITU, and debris rules such as the US FCC's five-year deorbit requirement. I'd budget ground-station time and a spare satellite from the start.
Real-world examples
At home
Thomas, an engineering student in Montreal, helped build a CubeSat with his university team. After launch, they tracked it from a rooftop ground station as it passed overhead several times a day.
At work
Carlos runs a Canadian agritech startup that uses data from CubeSat imaging constellations to monitor crop health across Prairie farms, updating clients every few days.
How it compares
| feature | CubeSat | Traditional satellite |
|---|---|---|
| Size | Shoebox scale, 10 cm units | Car to bus sized |
| Cost | Tens of thousands to a few million dollars | Tens to hundreds of millions |
| Lifespan | Months to a few years | 10 to 15+ years |
| Capabilities | Limited but growing | High |
CubeSats trade capability and lifespan for low cost and fast development.
For analysts
CubeSats are a low-cost way to prove a space-based business idea. I'd plan for failures and short lifespans, budgeting for replacement satellites rather than counting on one to last.
History & origin
Professors Jordi Puig-Suari of California Polytechnic State University and Bob Twiggs of Stanford University created the CubeSat standard in 1999 to give students hands-on space experience. The first CubeSats launched in 2003. Companies such as Planet Labs, founded in 2010, used CubeSat-based 'Doves' to image the entire Earth daily. NASA's two MarCO CubeSats relayed data from the InSight lander during its Mars landing in 2018, the first CubeSats in deep space. Canadian universities and the Canadian Space Agency's CubeSat Project have launched student satellites across the country. In my view, CubeSats did for space what the personal computer did for computing: made it accessible beyond governments and giant corporations.