Polaris Intelligence
Polaris
Intelligence
About
Ctrl K
Sign in
© Polaris Intelligence 2026
PrivacyTermsAdmin

Microsat

completedLaunch 1991-051
Launched 7/17/1991LEOService CGSat LEO SO
Admin Edit
Payloads
Assets deployed on this mission, enriched from spacecraft records.
7 payloads
Microsat 1
retired
Communications
LEO
Microsat 2
retired
CommunicationsLEO
Microsat 3
retired
CommunicationsLEO
Microsat 4
retired
CommunicationsLEO
Microsat 5
retired
CommunicationsLEO
Microsat 6
retired
CommunicationsLEO
Microsat 7
retired
CommunicationsLEO
Launch Details
Launch Date
7/17/1991
Launch ID
1991-051
Launch Profile
Sat LEO SO
Service Type
CG
Customer Type
G
Orbit
LEO
Launch Stack
Operator
Northrop Grumman
Launch Vehicle
Pegasus
Launch Site
RW04/22, Edwards AFB, CaliforniaUS
Payload Summary
Payload Count
7
Payload Status
retired 7
Payload Mission Types
Communications 7
Track
Mentions
20
All verified mentions of this mission in source documents.

The Qingzhou prototype cargo spacecraft was developed by Microsat.

CapabilityGeneralValue 3.5Mar 30, 2026While the competition was hardly "commercial" in the Western sense (state enterprises CAST & SAST were finalists), & overshadowed by the other winner, Chinese aerospace giant AVIC's Haolong spaceplane, @CAS_Space nevertheless got a contract for this can:

NanoAvionics is exploring the integration of Flexell Space’s solar cells into its cubesat and microsat platforms.

RelationshipsPlanCapabilityValue 3.0Mar 18, 2026NanoAvionics Lands Korean National Security Deal

Microsat’s Qingzhou cargo spacecraft is planned to launch on the first CAS Space Kinetica-2 (Kinetica-2) kerosene-liquid oxygen launcher in the second half of 2025.

PlanGeneralValue 4.0Nov 15, 2024Tianzhou-8 spacecraft delivers supplies, key experiments to Tiangong space station

MethaneSAT, projected to launch in 2024, was built on a Saturn-class microsat by Blue Canyon Technologies for the Environmental Defense Fund to measure methane emissions.

PlanCapabilityRelationshipsGeneralValue 4.3Oct 9, 2023

NASA’s Pandora mission, projected to launch in 2024 or 2025, uses a Saturn-class microsat and was designed by NASA and the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to study the atmospheres of exoplanets.

PlanCapabilityGeneralValue 4.0Oct 9, 2023New head of smallsat supplier Blue Canyon sets sights on defense market growth

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) subsidiary CAST and Microsat under the Chinese Academy of Sciences are contracted to manufacture satellites for the Guowang constellation.

RelationshipsValue 4.5Jun 9, 2023China’s first stackable satellite reaches orbit on solid rocket launch

CASC subsidiary CAST and Microsat under the Chinese Academy of Sciences are contracted to manufacture satellites for Guowang.

RelationshipsGeneralValue 4.0May 31, 2023China looks to Long March 8 rocket to help launch its answer to Starlink

Xantus metal plasma thrusters are optimized for cubesats and are integral for microsat mission optimization.

CapabilityValue 2.5May 8, 2023Benchmark Combines Space Heritage with Its Advanced Control Systems Products and Services

Agile Microsat, or AMS, is a standardized 6U cubesat bus that Blue Canyon designed, built, and tested for MIT Lincoln Laboratory.

CapabilityRelationshipsValue 4.3Jun 5, 2022Blue Canyon’s low-altitude smallsats thrive on-orbit after their launch via SpaceX’s Transporter-5 mission

The agile microsat AMS launched on Transporter 5 is a shoebox-size cubesat designed to operate in very low Earth orbit for an extended period.

CapabilityPlanValue 3.8Jun 5, 2022Blue Canyon looks to demonstrate small-satellite performance at very low altitude

Blue Canyon Technologies launched Agile Microsat and HACSSAT 1 and HACSSAT 2 aboard the SpaceX Transporter-5 mission on 2022-05-25.

PlanGeneralValue 4.5Jun 5, 2022Blue Canyon’s low-altitude smallsats thrive on-orbit after their launch via SpaceX’s Transporter-5 mission

NanoAvionics plans to launch 14 satellites 2022, including its first microsat MP42.

PlanGrowthValue 4.0Jan 20, 2022Nanoavionics Confirms Signal Receptions From 3 On-Orbit Smallsats Launched By SpaceX’s Transporter-3 Mission

Sierra Nevada Corporation acquired MicroSat Systems in 2008.

RelationshipsValue 4.3Apr 14, 2021Sierra Nevada Corporation to spin off space division

The MP42 microsat bus can accommodate payloads in the range of 50 kg and can withstand 25 kRad of radiation, enabling up to 10 years of lifetime in low Earth orbit depending on the orbit.

CapabilityGeneralValue 4.0Mar 24, 2021NanoAvionics expands into microsatellite market with MP42 bus

Microsat-2A is a 142-kilogram satellite that will demonstrate launch-on-demand capability with the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle and will operate for 10 months in a 350-kilometer orbit.

PlanCapabilityValue 4.3Feb 27, 2020India outlines launch plans, progress in human spaceflight and space transportation

Momentus plans a 2020 test launch of Vigoride by sending a satellite into orbit through NanoRacks’ Kaber Microsat Deployer on the space station.

PlanCapabilityValue 4.0Aug 5, 2019Momentus to rely on NanoRacks airlock for Vigoride shuttle

Two days after the 2019-03-27 test, the U.S. Air Force was tracking 250 pieces of debris created when India’s PDV-Mk II intercepted Microsat-R at 280 km.

GeneralCapabilityValue 4.0Apr 9, 2019India ASAT debris spotted above 2,200 kilometers, will remain a year or more in orbit

India conducted an anti-satellite test dubbed 'Mission Shakti' on 2019-03-27 that used a ground-launched missile to strike the Microsat-R satellite in an orbit less than 300 km high.

CapabilityGeneralPlanValue 4.8Apr 2, 2019NASA warns Indian anti-satellite test increased debris risk to ISS

Indian media identified Microsat-TD, launched in 2018, as a possible alternative candidate target for the test.

GeneralValue 1.8Mar 27, 2019India tests anti-satellite weapon

Indian media identified Microsat-R, launched in January 2019, as a likely candidate target for the test.

PlanGeneralValue 2.6Mar 27, 2019India tests anti-satellite weapon
New head of smallsat supplier Blue Canyon sets sights on defense market growth