News
July 21, 2025
HAMPTON, Virginia. NASA is testing a modular small satellite platform designed to accelerate deployment of spaceborne sensors and reduce mission costs, the agency announced in a statement.
The Athena Economical Payload Integration Cost (EPIC) satellite, built in partnership with NovaWurks, is part of a demonstration program that uses a Hyper-Integrated Satlet (HISat) architecture to consolidate spacecraft functions and streamline payload integration, the statement reads.
The HISat system, assembled into larger structures known as SensorCraft, allows multiple payloads to share onboard resources such as processors and power systems. This architecture eliminates the need for redundant subsystems on individual instruments and reduces spacecraft size, cost, and complexity, NASA says.
The Athena sensor payload—developed at NASA’s Langley Research Center—was built using spare components from previous Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) missions. It includes an optical module and calibration system designed for Earth observation, the agency says.
Athena EPIC is the first HISat-based mission led by NASA and includes contributions from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Space Force.
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