NASA has selected Proteus — a low-Earth orbit (LEO) multipurpose platform developed in cooperation with the French space agency CNES — as part of NASA’s Rapid Spacecraft Development Office (RSDO) catalog, Alcatel Alenia Space announced Nov. 14.

Designed for 300 kg to 800 kg satellites in LEO and supporting Earth observation, telecommunication, scientific and other applications, Proteus is fitted to operate at altitudes between 300 and 2000 km, from sun-synchronous to near-equatorial orbits.