Kongsberg NanoAvionics has signed a contract to supply Constellr with two MP42 smallsat buses.
Kongsberg NanoAvionics signed a contract to supply Constellr with two MP42 microsatellite buses.
The MP42 microsatellite bus weighs more than 50 kg and is NanoAvionics’ largest satellite bus to date.
The three Kongsberg-ordered spacecraft will be based on NanoAvionics’ MP42 microsatellite bus.
The MP42 bus family can host customer payloads of up to 145 kg per satellite.
MP42 microsatellites provide inter-satellite links for both LEO-LEO and LEO-GEO communications to ensure uninterrupted real-time communications.
A prototype of the MP42 flew into orbit aboard a Falcon 9 in April 2024 and delivered a 4k selfie video of Earth during its initial operations phase.
All MP42 microsatellites provide inter-satellite links for both LEO-LEO and LEO-GEO communications to support uninterrupted real-time communications.
The middle MP42 bus, the MP42, has an empty bus mass starting at 45 kg and a payload envelope beginning at 490 x 480 x 0.35 m, accommodating payloads of up to 75 kg.
The smallest MP42 bus, the MP42H, has an empty bus mass starting at 18 kg and a payload envelope beginning at 280 x 325 x 0.28 m, accommodating payloads of up to 22 kg.
A prototype of the MP42 flew into orbit aboard a Falcon F9 in April 2022 and delivered a 4k selfie video during its initial operations phase.
The MP42 microsatellite was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 in April of 2022 for NanoAvionics’s MP42 microsatellite bus heritage mission.
The MP42 microsatellite bus family can host customer payloads of up to 145 kg and a total satellite mass of up to 220 kg.
The MP42 microsatellite bus family can host customer payloads of up to 145 kg and a total satellite mass of up to 220 kg.
The MP42 platform gained flight heritage in April, marking NanoAvionics’ expansion out of the 10-kilogram-and-under nanosatellite class.
NanoAvionics announced the MP42 product line in March 2021.
The MP42 has an empty bus mass starting at 45 kg and a payload envelope beginning at 490 x 480 x 0.35 m that accommodates payloads of up to 75 kg.
The three satellites ordered by Kongsberg will use NanoAvionics’ MP42 satellite bus designed for satellites weighing 50 kg or more.
The first MP42 satellite, a technology demonstrator with some hosted payloads, launched on SpaceX’s Transporter-4 rideshare mission in April.
NanoAvionics’ MP42 bus gained flight heritage in April 2022 when it carried a payload for Luxembourg connectivity startup OQ Technology on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare mission.