Story perspectives

U.S. Launches SNAPPY CubeSat into Polar Orbit

5/8/2026

Summary

Story summary

U.S. launched SNAPPY CubeSat at 12 a.m. Sunday from Vandenberg on a SpaceX Falcon 9.
SNAPPY is a 4-by-4-by-12-inch CubeSat built by Wichita State University and NASA, carrying crystal detectors shielded by epoxy on a Kongsberg NanoAvionics bus.
After separating from the Falcon 9 77 minutes after launch, SNAPPY entered a polar orbit for a multi-year mission, having received Phase I (2018), Phase II (2019) and Phase III (2021) grants from NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts program.

1 of 1

Story summary

U.S. launched SNAPPY CubeSat at 12 a.m. Sunday from Vandenberg on a SpaceX Falcon 9.
SNAPPY is a 4-by-4-by-12-inch CubeSat built by Wichita State University and NASA, carrying crystal detectors shielded by epoxy on a Kongsberg NanoAvionics bus.
After separating from the Falcon 9 77 minutes after launch, SNAPPY entered a polar orbit for a multi-year mission, having received Phase I (2018), Phase II (2019) and Phase III (2021) grants from NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts program.