CubeSat

SRI has been working with California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo on this miniaturized satellite. Known as CubeSat, the system is a 10-centimeter cube that can be launched into space at a fraction of the cost of a traditional satellite payload.

While there are small-scale satellite projects like this throughout the world, SRI says it can advance the field of such satellite operations due to its ability to work on communications networking systems, and to design CubeSat projects for partners as diverse as the U.S. Air Force, universities, and the National Science Foundation.

The CubeSat can be outfitted with all kinds of networking equipment and any number of sensors, so long as they can fit inside. SRI has even developed a tiny propulsion system that can allow CubeSats to control their movements in space. They can be launched in groups, and work in tandem, or be spread out over hundreds or thousands of miles in space to create wide mesh networks. And all for tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars, rather than millions.