NASA is testing new scalable satellite technology to integrate and launch scientific sensors faster and at lower cost. NASA’s Athena EPIC (Economical Payload Integration Cost) mission uses a compact, modular spacecraft platform that “shares resources among the payloads onboard” so each instrument doesn’t need its own control system. By offloading routine functions to the bus, this architecture promises “lower costs to taxpayers and a quicker path to launch”. Langley leads the project, which will fly as a SpaceX rideshare in mid-2025 to test the concept in orbit. It could expedite deployment of climate and weather sensors and accelerate future missions.

Scalable Satellite Platforms and Demonstration Missions

According to official site, NASA and industry partners are developing modular small satellite platforms. The Athena EPIC spacecraft is built from eight interlocking Hyper-Integrated Satlet (HISat) modules that form a “SensorCraft” bus, simplifying integration of multiple instruments. In parallel, NASA’s Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator (PTD) series uses a standard six-unit (6U) CubeSat bus (by Terran Orbital) that can be reconfigured quickly. The PTD-3 mission, launched in 2022, carried MIT Lincoln Laboratory’s TBIRD optical-communications payload and achieved a record 200 gigabits-per-second laser downlink from orbit.

Commercial partners are involved as well: Blue Canyon Technologies built the two CubeSats for NASA’s CubeSat Laser Infrared Crosslink (CLICK) mission, and will supply four for the forthcoming Starling formation-flying demo. These standardized buses and partnerships speed integration and testing of new satellite systems.

Faster Deployments, Lower Costs, and Scientific Gains

These scalable satellite buses promise to cut mission costs and cycle times. Instead of the billion-dollar platforms of old, the new “SensorCraft” design can slash costs to the single-digit millions per mission. Smaller satellites are cheaper to build and easier to replace if failures occur. Moreover, by reusing existing parts, teams can accelerate development – for example, Athena’s optical sensor was assembled from spare components of NASA’s CERES climate-observation satellites. NASA officials note that, “as satellites become smaller, a less traditional, more efficient path to launch is needed” to maximize science return.

Two NASA satellites are scheduled to be launched into low-Earth orbit in a mission designed to do nothing less than study magnetic storms that imperil the Earth’s atmosphere, communication, and orbital systems. Travelling together in sun-synchronous orbit, the Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites (TRACERS) will keep watch over Earth’s polar cusps — a pair of funnel-shaped regions in Earth’s magnetosphere where solar particles and energy flow in. By observing these regions, TRACERS will continue to learn how magnetic reconnection works throughout space, powering the giant explosions on the sun as well as the solar wind that spreads throughout the solar system, leading to space weather.

NASA’s $170M TRACERS Mission to Track Solar Wind and Shield Earth from Space Weather Threats

As per NASA’s briefing, TRACERS will explore how solar wind triggers disruptions in Earth’s magnetic field, helping researchers better predict when and where such activity might occur. The spacecraft will fly closely behind one another, allowing for nearly real-time comparison of plasma and magnetic conditions—an improvement over previous single-satellite studies. Joe Westlake, NASA’s Heliophysics Division Director, stated the mission will help protect GPS, power grids, and astronauts by enabling earlier forecasts of solar storm activity.

The mission tackles a major challenge in heliophysics, our understanding of dynamic magnetic reconnection phenomena that vary on short timescales. TRACERS dual approach also enables scientists to discern between environmental shifts due to the travelling stars or to inherent magnetic variations. “These findings are crucial for basic studies of how the Earth’s magnetosphere interacts with solar energy,” said principal investigator David Miles.

TRACERS, a spacecraft located 590 kilometers above Earth, will collaborate with other missions to observe the Sun-Earth connection from various vantage points, providing unique low-orbit data to complement broader heliophysics observations.

The $170 million TRACERS mission, set to launch later in July, has been created to bolster readiness for such solar weather and keep space-dependent modern societies resilient and safe in a space-dependent world.