NSL Constellation - ThinSat

The 60 ThinSat Constellation is a revolutionary new product from NearSpace Launch Inc. The first wave of ThinSats launched April 17, 2019, on an orbital ATK rocket on the NG-11 mission.

ThinSats are designed to be a cost effective means of getting research into space, making them a perfect option for sensor testing, ground station calibration, or any variety of  educational or commercial missions.  The ThinSats contain all of the vital flight components of a FastBus CubeSat (EPS, EyeStar™ radio, battery, flight processor, etc.) all in the scalable body of the ThinSat. 

Thanks to the unique NSL fanfold array structure, Multiple ThinSats can be linked in order to form a constellation. This enables even more possibilities for research, education, and product development.

The ThinSat, currently a fraction of a conventional cubesat, opens doors for countless research and educational ventures alike.

The ThinSat is also very scalable, from 1/7U CubeSats, to larger proposed sets (as shown in above figure). These range from a 2x3U (6U) CubeSat up to a 3x3x3U (27U) CubeSat. The 2x3U (6U) CubeSat is composed of 1/2U and 1/4U thick ThinSats, each spanning the 2U width, making them and 1/2U volume respectively. The 2x2x3U (12U) CubeSat is composed of 1/2U and 1/4U thick ThinSats, each 2x2U across the width and height, resulting in 2U and 1U volume “slices”. The larger 3x3x3U (27U) is composed of 1/2U thick ThinSat slices, each of them 3x3U across the width and height. This results in units of 4 1/2U volume each. Each ThinSat slice in the resulting stack is a fully contained, functional, and independent satellite capable of carrying out relevant and powerful science and technical missions. This concept follows the CubeSat standard, and common sized CubeSats can even be incorporated in to the ThinSat stack.

ThinSats permit larger payloads and subsystems (e.g. ADACs and propulsion). ThinSat Modules can also be tied together or in groups (Strings) to provide improved data collection, work flow, redundancy, and solar/battery power.