NASA astronaut Chris Williams pointed a camera out a window on the cupola as a set of CubeSats were deployed outside the Kibo laboratory module by a small satellite orbital deployer into Earth orbit. Students from Mexico, Italy, Thailand, Malaysia, and Japan designed the shoe-boxed satellites for a series of Earth observations and technology demonstrations.
CubeSats are a class of nanosatellites – small spacecraft weighing 1-10 kilograms – that use a standard size and form factor. The development of CubeSats has advanced into its own industry with government, industry and academia collaborating for ever increasing capabilities. CubeSats now provide a cost-effective platform for science investigations, new technology demonstrations and advanced mission concepts.
Image credit: NASA/Chris Williams
NASA宇航员克里斯·威廉姆斯（Chris Williams）透过穹顶舱的窗户拍摄了这张照片，当时一组立方体卫星正通过小型卫星轨道部署器从希望号实验舱外被释放进入地球轨道。来自墨西哥、意大利、泰国、马来西亚和日本的学生设计了这些鞋盒大小的卫星，用于开展一系列地球观测和技术验证。
立方体卫星属于纳卫星——即重量在1至10千克之间的小型航天器——它们采用标准的尺寸和外形规格。立方体卫星的研发已发展成为一个独立的产业，政府、工业界和学术界正通力合作，致力于不断提升其性能。如今，立方体卫星为科学研究、新技术验证及先进任务概念提供了一个极具成本效益的平台。
图片来源: NASA/Chris Williams
