[Satellite Today – 4-25-08] NASA’s Ames Research Center signed a cooperative research and development agreement with M2MI to develop nanosatellites for the commercialization of space, NASA announced April 24.
    Under the contract, the two organizations intend to develop a constellation of nanosatellites, spacecraft weighing between 5 and 45 kilograms, that will be placed in low-Earth orbit to provide a telecommunications and networking system.
    The cooperative effort will combine NASA’s expertise in nanosensors, wireless networks and nanosatellite technologies with M2MI’s capabilities in software technology, sensors, global system awareness, adaptive control and commercialization capabilities.
    "The constellation will provide a robust, global, space-based, high-speed network for communication, data storage and Earth observations," M2MI CEO Geoff Brown said in a statement. "Nanosatellites take advantage of the significant technological advances in microelectronics and will be produced using low-cost, mass-production techniques."