EarthNext Spacecraft - Nanosats Database

Spacecraft name	EarthNext
Type	CubeSat
Units or mass	16U
Status	not launched, expected in 2027
Launcher	not launched
Organisation	Officina Stellare
Institution	Company
Entity	Commercial
Headquarters	Italy
Manufacturer	AIVT by ?
Operator	?
Partners	Officina Stellare, TSD Space, T4i, AIKO, University of Naples, Planetek Italia
Oneliner	Hosting eletrical propulsion, a multispectral payload and on-board automation based on AI to demonstrate Earth Observation from VLEO.
Description	EarthNext, a mission led by Officina Stellare, wants to explore and define a new paradigm to establish space infrastructure. EarthNext proposes to demonstrate the viability and reveal the advantages of operating CubeSats and other small satellites in Very Low Earth Orbits (VLEOs). EarthNext 16U CubeSat represents an innovative satellite platform, tailored to operate at an altitude between 300 and 350 km. Taking full advantage from its proximity to the Earth, EarthNext integrates a spectral imaging payload with high spatial resolution, developed by Officina Stellare and TSD Space, filling the gap between airborne and spaceborne remote sensing. Mission empowering system for the on-board mission management and processing, developed by TSD Space, are conceived to host on CubeSat format, deep learning algorithms, developed by Aiko. Last but not least, the electric propulsion technology developed and commercialised by T4i is the EarthNext's key enabling technology to operate in the challenging VLEO mission scenario. EarthNext is a CubeSat for Earth Observation mission developed as part of the ALCOR program funded by the Italian Space Agency (ASI). The mission is designed for an In Orbit Demonstration (IOD) of operating a CubeSat in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO). The mission aims to deliver value-added products and services for terrestrial applications by capturing high-resolution multispectral images of customer-selected target areas across Italy. It also seeks to create a synergistic dataset with other high-resolution multispectral missions and conduct IOD of a secondary camera for cloud detection over the area of interest. The phase C of the mission will start at Q2 2025.
Sources	[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Photo sources	[1] [2]
Keywords	Propulsion, VLEO (Very Low Earth Orbit)

Last modified: 2025-04-23