CUTE launched to a sun-synchronous low-Earth orbit in September 2021 as a secondary payload on the NASA–U.S. Geological Survey Landsat 9 mission.
The Landsat 9 mission launched on an Atlas V 401 configuration rocket that included a 13.7-foot (4-meter) Extra Extended Payload Fairing and stood 59.1 m (59 m) tall.
The USGS EROS Center will operate the Landsat 9 mission and manage the ground system, including maintaining the Landsat archive.
Aerojet Rocketdyne provided the RL10C-1 engine for the Centaur upper stage on the Landsat 9 mission.
The Atlas V Landsat 9 mission used a dual-orbit profile that deployed Landsat 9 and the smallsats into two different orbits, enabling ULA’s first four-burn Centaur mission on an Atlas V rocket.
The Landsat 9 mission includes the Landsat 9 ESPA Flight System which will deploy multiple CubeSats after Landsat 9 separation.
NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center manages the Landsat 9 mission through launch and post-launch checkout.
NASA’s Landsat-9 mission is scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 launch vehicle in September 2021.