NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI)

The NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) is a NASA program that provides CubeSat developers in the United States — including educational institutions, non-profit organizations, and NASA centers — with low-cost access to space as auxiliary payloads on NASA-sponsored launches. Established in 2010 under NASA's Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) mission series, CSLI selects CubeSat proposals for flight opportunities based on educational value, technical readiness, and science or technology demonstration merit. Missions have launched from the ISS via NanoRacks deployers, from ESPA-class rideshare rings, and as secondary payloads on NASA science and exploration launches. CSLI has enabled over 100 CubeSat missions across universities, community colleges, K-12 schools, and research institutions, accelerating the democratization of space access and development of the next generation of space scientists and engineers.