NASA’s Cost-Saving Technology Demonstration CubeSat Ready for Launch on SpaceX Rideshare
Vandenberg Space Force Base, California – November 26, 2025 — NASA is set to launch a new small satellite as part of a commercial rideshare mission aimed at advancing rapid, affordable space technology development. The Realizing Rapid, Reduced-cost high-Risk Research project Spacecraft 7 (R5-S7) CubeSat, developed by NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, has been encapsulated inside a SpaceX Falcon 9 payload fairing alongside dozens of other satellites. The launch is scheduled for 10:18 a.m. PST (1:18 p.m. EST) on Friday, November 28, 2025, from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Pioneering Rapid, Low-Cost Spacecraft Technology
The R5-S7 CubeSat, approximately the size of a shoebox, represents the latest iteration in NASA’s R5 series of spacecraft. This series is designed to demonstrate how spacecraft can be developed and deployed both rapidly and cost-effectively. By leveraging an incremental development approach, R5-S7 incorporates lessons learned from its predecessors, refining its capabilities with each mission.
Unlike earlier versions, R5-S7 will execute a crucial proximity operations maneuver immediately after deployment from the launch vehicle. This maneuver is a first for the R5 series and marks a significant advancement toward essential capabilities needed for future missions involving in-space inspection, servicing, assembly, and manufacturing. Such operations are foundational for expanding NASA’s presence and activities in low Earth orbit and beyond.
Innovative Use of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf Components
One of the key features of R5-S7 is its integration of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and subsystems. By employing commercially available components—including propulsion systems typically considered expensive and with long lead times—NASA aims to drastically reduce spacecraft development timelines from years to months and cut costs to a fraction of traditional expenses. This approach seeks to make vital spacecraft subsystems quickly accessible not only to NASA missions but also to other agencies and users.
Part of the Transporter-15 Mission: A Dedicated CubeSat Rideshare
The R5-S7 CubeSat is launching aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket during the Transporter-15 rideshare mission. This mission carries a diverse payload consisting of several dozen satellites, including three additional NASA-funded CubeSats flying as part of NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI). The CSLI program provides U.S. educational institutions, non-profits, and informal educational organizations such as museums and science centers with opportunities to launch small-scale satellites.
Among the other NASA CubeSats is 3UCubed-A, a satellite roughly the size of a loaf of bread developed by the University of New Hampshire at Durham and manifested by Space Enabled Operations (SEOPS). This satellite will study electron precipitation and ultraviolet emissions in Earth’s auroral and cusp regions. Its data will complement measurements from NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP), which is currently investigating how the polar atmosphere responds to changes in solar wind and particle precipitation.
Additionally, Auburn University in Alabama, also manifested by SEOPS, is launching a pair of CubeSats named TRYAD-1 and TRYAD-2. These satellites will focus on terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs), rare bursts of high-energy photons produced by thunderstorms. By using multipoint observations, the TRYAD mission will help constrain models of TGF beams and improve understanding of thunderstorm electric fields.
Advancing NASA’s Technology Demonstration Goals
The R5 series exemplifies NASA’s commitment to pioneering new methods for spacecraft design and operation that are faster, cheaper, and more accessible. Demonstrating prototype technologies in orbit with such small satellites enables NASA engineers and scientists to validate hardware rapidly and make successful innovations available for broader application swiftly.
The combination of NASA’s R5-S7 CubeSat alongside other innovative small satellites on the upcoming Transporter-15 ride marks another step forward in reducing cost and complexity for space missions, promoting scientific discovery, and fostering collaboration between NASA and academia.
About NASA’s Small Satellite Missions
NASA’s small satellite and CubeSat programs play a crucial role in testing new space technologies and addressing key science questions at a fraction of the cost of traditional large spacecraft missions. By fostering partnerships with universities and industry, these initiatives help cultivate the next generation of space technology innovations and scientific exploration.
For more information, visit NASA’s official website and follow updates on the Transporter-15 mission and NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology Program.
