NanoRacks deploying Planet Labs Dove satellites in May 2015. Photo: NanoRacks

[Via Satellite 05-20-2016] NanoRacks deployed its 111th customer CubeSat on May 18 from the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA’s) Kibo module on the International Space Station (ISS). A milestone for commercial activity in space, NanoRacks is able to offer its CubeSat deployment opportunity through a Space Act Agreement (SAA) with NASA as part of the ISS National Lab in coordination with the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS).

NanoRacks’ program is commercially funded, meaning there is no government funding and it is sustained by customer’s revenue. The company’s customers include Planet Labs, NanoAvionics, Spire, QB50, Southern Stars, NASA, the Lithuanian Space Association, Kaunas University of Technology, MIT, Booz-Allen Hamilton, Planetary Resources, GOMspace, the Aalborg University, the University of Colorado–Boulder, the University of Michigan and others. These customers have used NanoRack’s deployment services for technology demonstrations, educational purposes and for building constellations in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).