NASA has selected 14 small satellites from 12 states to fly as auxiliary payloads aboard rockets planned to launch in 2016, 2017 and 2018. The proposed CubeSats come from universities across the country, non-profit organizations and NASA field centers.

CubeSats are a class of research spacecraft called nanosatellites. The cube-shaped satellites measure about four inches on each side, have a volume of about one quart and weigh less than three pounds each.

The selections are part of the sixth round of the agency's CubeSat Launch Initiative. After launch, the satellites will conduct technology demonstration, educational research or science missions. The selected spacecraft are eligible for placement on a launch manifest after final negotiations, depending on the availability of a flight opportunity. The organizations sponsoring satellites are:

Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona

Asteroid Origins Satellite is a science laboratory that will be the worlds first CubeSat centrifuge. It will enable a unique set of science and technology experiments to be performed on a CubeSat to answer fundamental questions of how the solar system formed and understand the surface dynamics of asteroids and comets.

California State University, Northridge, California

The mission of California State University Northridge Satellite is to test an innovative low temperature capable energy storage system in space developed by NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena that will enable future missions, especially those in deep space to do more science while requiring less energy, mass and volume.

Capitol Technology University, Laurel, Maryland

The Coordinated Applied Capitol Technology University Satellite (CACTUS-1) is a technological demonstration of a cost-saving communications and commanding innovation. The payload will lower investment in communications and ground systems technology by licensing conventional internet satellite providers for low earth orbit use. The CubeSats aerogel-based Particle Capture and Measurement instrument is the first CubeSat-based orbital debris detector to be flown in low-Earth orbit.

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NASA Announces Sixth Round of CubeSat Space Mission Candidates