Tiny BurstCube's Tremendous Travelogue

Meet BurstCube! This shoebox-sized satellite is designed to study the most powerful explosions in the cosmos, called gamma-ray bursts. It detects gamma rays, the highest-energy form of light.

BurstCube may be small, but it had a huge journey to get to space.

SpaceX is targeting Saturday, June 13 at 5:21 a.m. EDT, 9:21 UTC, for launch of its ninth Starlink mission, which will include 58 Starlink satellites and three of Planet’s SkySats. Falcon 9 will lift off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and a backup opportunity is available on Sunday, June 14 at 4:59 a.m. EDT, 8:59 UTC. This mission marks SpaceX’s first SmallSat Rideshare Program launch. 

Electron soars on inaugural test flight, paving way for commercial operations.

Rocket Lab broke through the smallsat launch industry Thursday (May 25) with the first launch of its Electron rocket. Dubbed “It's a Test” by the U.S.-based company, Electron carried a sensor package in lieu of satellites for this mission, providing engineers with over 25,000 channels of data.

Nine Rutherford engines – made in-house by Rocket Lab – powered the 56-foot rocket off its seaside launch complex on New Zealand's Mahia peninsula. Launch Complex-1 is the country's first orbital launch facility. Liftoff occurred at 4:20 UTC, or 12:20am EDT May 25.

Two and a half minutes after liftoff the rocket's first stage fell away and a single Rutherford engine on the upper stage ignited. The vehicle's payload fairing jettisoned as the second stage continued its powered climb to orbit. Although the vehicle did reach space – defined as 62 miles above the Earth's surface – Rocket Lab indicated after the flight that Electron did not achieve orbital velocity. The company did not go into detail on what the potential issues with the flight were that caused its sensor package to not achieve orbit.

Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex-1, located on Mahia Point, New Zealand. Orbital imagery courtesy Digital Globe.

Electron is one of only a handful of rocket's designed entirely in the 21st century. As such, it features a plethora of unique technologies that make it stand out against other vehicles in the commercial launch market. Each Rutherford engine is 3D printed and is fed by all-electric pumps, earning the nickname “the battery-powered rocket”. The use of composite materials for the entire rocket's body has never been done before and gives Electron a sleek black appearance. Electron is the first rocket in a burgeoning class of small launchers to take flight that will cater to the small satellite market. Vector Space Systems recently completed a subscale, single-engine test launch of their Vector-R vehicle, however, full-scale test flights still need to occur. Rocket Labs hopes to fly two more test flights in the coming months before Electron is declared operational by the end of 2017. Click here for our preview story on Electron’s flight.

Vector R completes first test launch en route to easier smallsat access to space. Vector Space Systems, a private spaceflight company based out of Tuscon, successfully completed their first test launch May 3. An engineering version of the rocket lifted off from a makeshift launch pad in the Mojave desert shortly after 3pm EDT. The vehicle featured smaller propellant tanks and a single 5,000 lbf engine keeping with the company’s desire to incrementally test the vehicle.  In order to forgo a lengthy process for an FAA-issued commercial launch licence, the company only utilised a single, 5,000lbf engine on the first stage, instead focussing testing on the vehicle’s avionics and computer systems, Vector CEO Jim Cantrell expects around five flights of the vehicle before an orbital test flight completes the testing phase. The rocket is expected to place six satellites and up to 132 pounds in Low Earth Orbit. Vector-R aims to provide a launch vehicle for the microsatellites and cubesats, book-sized payloads often flown piggyback atop larger rockets. Since these usually fly as secondary payloads to larger satellites, their access to space is out of the control of their parent companies. By having a dedicated launch service such as Vector R and Rocket Lab’s Electron, cubesats would launch at a more rapid pace and much cheaper than the current paradigm.

The rocket is expected to place six satellites and up to 132 pounds in Low Earth Orbit. Vector-R is a two-stage, liquid fuelled rocket with three first stage engines and a single upper stage engine. Up to six satellites can fit into the rocket’s nosecone. Of the three major companies currently breaking into the smallsat market - Vector, Rocket Lab, and Virgin Orbit - Vector is the first to actually test flight hardware. The company hopes to offer launch services for as little as 1.5 million dollars with a weekly launch cadence. Currently, smallsat launches piggybacking on larger vehicles must wait months in between launches.

By Seda Hewitt

So you’ve got an idea. Maybe it came to you while watching a launch video, or while fiddling with an Arduino kit in your garage. It might be a sensor, a camera experiment, a new comms protocol—or just a vague “what if” about doing something in orbit.

And now you’re wondering: Could this become a real space payload?

Short answer? Yes. Long answer? It takes patience, planning, and a bit of humility.

At Interstellar Communication Holdings Inc., we’ve turned early ideas into flying hardware. Our work on the PocketQube HADES‑ICM taught us a lot—about what’s essential, what’s just shiny noise, and how to think small without dreaming small.

So if you’re at that starting point—full of curiosity but unsure what comes next—this one’s for you.

First: What Is a Payload?

Let’s demystify the word. A “payload” is the part of a satellite that does the thing you want it to do. It’s the mission core.

In a weather satellite, it might be a sensor. In a comms satellite, it’s a transceiver. In a student-built satellite, it might even be a GoPro with a clever mount.

The rest of the satellite—power, structure, thermal control, communications—is just there to support the payload.

So: your idea? It has to become something that fits in a satellite, runs on limited resources, and delivers data that means something.

Step 1: Get Specific

Ideas are great. But payloads need clarity.

Don’t just say “a satellite that helps with agriculture.” Say: “A multispectral camera that detects vegetation stress using near-infrared light.”

Instead of “a satellite for education,” say: “A student-run experiment to test low-power radio signal attenuation from low Earth orbit.”

Specificity is everything. It’s what helps you get buy-in, funding, technical support, and eventually—launch approval.

Step 2: Ask the Hard Questions

Before you draft a circuit or write a line of code, pause. Ask:

What problem is this payload solving—or exploring?

What data will it collect, and why does that matter?

Can this idea be tested on Earth first?

What are the constraints? (power, volume, thermal, communications)

At Interstellar Communication Holdings Inc., based in the United States, we underestimated power consumption on an early prototype. That one mistake caused cascading issues: overheating, brownouts, lost packets.

Lesson learned. Now, before we commit to anything, we stress-test the question: “What does this payload need to survive—and be useful?”

Step 3: Fit the Format

Let’s say you want to launch with a platform like PocketQube or CubeSat. That’s great! But it comes with strict limitations.

For a PocketQube (1P), you have:

5cm x 5cm x 5cm of volume

<250 grams of mass

~1 Watt of average power (if you’re lucky)

Every millimeter and milliamp matters. You’ll need:

Low-power components

Minimal moving parts

Efficient data handling

Fault-tolerant firmware

Designing for space isn’t like prototyping for a classroom demo. Once it’s launched, you can’t touch it again.

So, build it to break. Test it to fail. And repeat.

Step 4: Make It Measurable

Your payload needs to generate data—and you need to define what that looks like early.

Is it temperature every 10 seconds? Packet success rates? Radiation counts? Comms handshake logs?

Design your payload around a clear data structure. It’ll make life easier for your ground team, your users, and even your funders.

We’ve made the mistake of collecting “everything”—only to realize that noise is worse than silence. These days, we prioritize meaningful metrics over exhaustive logs.

Step 5: Map the Lifecycle

Think beyond launch day. Plan for:

Commissioning phase (first 72 hours in orbit)

Normal operation (daily passes, regular data)

Degraded mode (reduced function due to wear)

End of life (shutdown, burn-up, or disposal)

Even tiny payloads deserve a full lifecycle plan. Not just for technical reasons—but for ethical ones.

With more companies entering space, we all share a responsibility to keep orbital environments sustainable.

Step 6: Find Your Allies

Nobody builds a space payload alone.

You’ll need:

Mentors (university profs, engineers, space clubs)

Partners (component suppliers, testing labs)

Launch providers (rideshare brokers, orbital deployers)

Listeners (the global satellite enthusiast community!)

At Interstellar Communication Holdings Inc., we’ve been lucky to connect with people across the world who help track, validate, and even interpret our payload data. That’s one of the surprising joys of small sat missions: the community is real—and willing to help.

Looking Ahead

We’re proud that our company has been nominated for the 2025 Go Global Awards, hosted this November in London by the International Trade Council. That event brings together innovators from around the world—not just to celebrate success, but to spark new ideas.

And maybe, just maybe, one of those ideas is yours.

So if you’ve got a space idea, don’t let it sit in your head. Sketch it. Scope it. Break it down. Turn it into something real. Payloads aren’t born from labs. They’re born from curiosity.

You don’t need a PhD to contribute. You need focus, humility, and follow-through.

Final Thought

The distance between an idea and orbit is smaller than it’s ever been. Yes, it’s technical. Yes, it takes time.

But it’s possible.

By Seda Hewitt

Failure. It's not the first word you'd expect to hear in a conversation about space. But if you've ever worked on a PocketQube satellite—or really any small spacecraft—you learn quickly that failure isn’t the exception. It’s the starting point.

At Interstellar Communication Holdings Inc., our work with small satellites like HADES‑ICM has taught us a lot about performance, engineering trade-offs, and launch logistics. But more than that, it’s taught us something deeper about resilience—both in the systems we send to orbit and the people who build them.

Because here’s the truth: when you build something that’s meant to survive space... you don’t design it to be perfect. You design it to fail gracefully.

The Nature of the Beast

PocketQubes are tiny. 5x5x5 cm, give or take. That’s less room than most people’s morning coffee cup. And yet, inside that cube, we try to pack processors, sensors, antennas, batteries, radios... sometimes even cameras.

And then we launch it on a rocket.

It’s stressful—physically and emotionally. These satellites are jolted, frozen, heated, spun, and then left to fend for themselves in orbit. There’s no reboot button. No mechanic. No second chance.

So how do you prepare for that? You assume something will go wrong.

Not If. But When.

This shift in mindset—expecting failure rather than fearing it—changes everything.

It affects how we:

Design systems: Modular components can be isolated if one fails. Redundancy is added where it counts. We might even omit a feature entirely if it introduces unnecessary risk.

Write software: Code is kept lightweight, robust, and able to recover from errors without human intervention.

Run tests: We simulate not just ideal behavior but failure conditions—partial power, dropped packets, bad temperature readings.

During the HADES‑ICM project, we had to scrap an early power distribution design because it couldn't handle brownout scenarios gracefully. It didn’t just fail—it failed loudly, taking other subsystems with it. That experience forced us to re-engineer with a new principle: contain the chaos.

Embracing Limited Lifespan

Most PocketQubes don’t stay active for years. Some last months. Some weeks. Occasionally, only days.

And while it’s tempting to mourn the short lifespan, there’s something beautiful about it too. These aren’t spacecraft designed to endure forever. They’re meant to be temporary. Agile. Disposable, even.

But if we know they might fail... then we also know we can afford to try bold things. New antennas. Novel protocols. Experimental data routes.

Failure becomes part of the success.

Stories from the Sky

We once received a signal report from a radio enthusiast halfway across the globe. A single data packet from HADES‑ICM had been received—clean, crisp, perfect. The next day, we got nothing.

What happened? We still don’t fully know. A power cycle glitch? Cosmic radiation? Thermal creep? Maybe all three.

But the mission wasn’t a failure. That single packet proved the system worked. Even if only briefly. It taught us something. And in the world of PocketQubes, one clean signal is worth its weight in gold.

Why Resilience Matters Beyond Satellites

Here’s where things get a little more philosophical.

Working on small satellites teaches a kind of humility. You plan for success, yes. But you also make peace with loss. And that mindset—the acceptance of imperfection, the embrace of iteration—is something I think all technology teams can learn from.

We don’t have to make indestructible systems. We have to make recoverable ones.

The same applies to teams. Deadlines slip. Components break. Code fails in space but works fine on Earth. You keep going anyway.

And perhaps this is why I’m particularly proud that Interstellar Communication Holdings Inc., based in the United States, is nominated for the 2025 Go Global Awards—to be held this November in London, hosted by the International Trade Council.

That event isn’t just about shining successes. It’s about resilience. About stories of persistence and the courage to try again. It brings together companies large and small from around the world—not just to celebrate, but to share lessons, form partnerships, and create new opportunities.

In many ways, it reflects the spirit of micromissions and PocketQubes—small, scrappy, optimistic. Resilient.

Final Thought

Designing for failure isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s a form of strength.

It says: we know the risks. We’re not afraid of them. We’ll build anyway.

PocketQubes remind us that you don’t need to be flawless to be valuable. A short mission can still carry long-lasting insight. A single beacon can prove a theory. And even when things break, there’s meaning in the process.

By Seda Hewitt

Aerospace used to mean a few things: government agencies, billion-dollar contractors, and decades-long project timelines. It meant white rooms, test benches, long approval chains, and a kind of sacred untouchability that felt... well, untouchable.

But something’s changed.

Now, a satellite might be built in a garage. It could be launched on a shared rocket with a dozen others. The team behind it might be a handful of engineers and students. Or a small, focused startup with one clear idea and a shoestring budget.

And surprisingly—or maybe not—many of those missions are working. Some are doing things once thought impossible. These aren’t just side projects. They’re part of a deep shift.

Satellite startups are rewriting the rules of aerospace. Not slowly. Not subtly. But unmistakably.

A Different Kind of Launch

There was a time when putting anything into orbit took ten years and a small nation's treasury. You had to book an entire launch vehicle. You needed a custom satellite bus. Testing ran for months. Documentation filled binders.

But now?

With shared launch models and commercial rideshare programs from companies like SpaceX and Rocket Lab, access to space is faster, cheaper, and more flexible. You can book a CubeSat slot almost like booking cargo on a flight.

At Interstellar Communication Holdings Inc., our PocketQube satellite HADES‑ICM flew aboard a rideshare mission. We didn’t need a custom rocket. Just a slot, a plan, and a payload that fit the parameters. It wasn’t simple—but it was achievable. On a startup timeline. On a startup budget.

That’s a massive shift. Not just logistically—but culturally.

Speed Over Size

Traditional aerospace has always prioritized perfection. Rightfully so. When your satellite costs half a billion dollars, you can’t afford to fail.

But startups work differently. They test in sprints. They build minimum viable satellites. They iterate—sometimes in orbit.

We’ve embraced this philosophy in our own work. With small form factors like PocketQubes, we don’t need to wait five years to deploy an idea. We can prototype, test, launch, and refine. Sometimes even within the same year.

Speed doesn’t mean recklessness. It just means a different risk profile. And in many cases, that agility is an advantage—not a liability.

Small Is the New Strategic

A common misconception is that small satellites mean small impact. But that’s no longer true.

Today’s smallsats can:

Provide real-time agricultural data to farmers in developing regions.

Monitor emissions from industrial zones.

Track endangered wildlife across continents.

Offer backup communication during natural disasters.

Startups are leading the charge in these areas—not because they have more money, but because they have more freedom. Freedom to try, to fail, to try again. Freedom to design missions around niche problems, not general ones.

At Interstellar Communication Holdings Inc., we didn’t set out to duplicate what legacy aerospace already does. We wanted to test new radio protocols in a lean, focused, low-orbit environment. And we did it, not despite being small—but because we were small.

Open Tools, Shared Knowledge

Another rule being rewritten is that aerospace must be proprietary, secretive, closed off.

Startups tend to think differently. Many of us use open-source software, publish mission data, and contribute to global communities like SatNOGS or GNU Radio. This openness doesn’t weaken the mission—it strengthens it.

For example, when our satellite sent out its first beacon, it wasn’t just our team listening. Amateur radio operators around the world were ready. That kind of support ecosystem wouldn’t exist without open culture.

Startups embrace it. Legacy aerospace is starting to notice.

Recognition from the Global Stage

Of course, rewriting rules doesn’t mean working in isolation. It means entering new arenas—with new voices, new metrics, and new partnerships.

That’s why we’re especially proud that Interstellar Communication Holdings Inc., based in the United States, is a nominee for the 2025 Go Global Awards, happening this November in London and hosted by the International Trade Council.

This event isn’t just an awards ceremony. It’s a convening of minds—startups, corporations, governments—each exploring how innovation can cross borders and shift paradigms.

For space startups, it’s a chance to be seen not as disruptors on the fringe, but as contributors at the center.

Final Thought

Legacy aerospace isn’t going away. Nor should it. There’s a place for massive space telescopes, deep space probes, and long-duration platforms.

But alongside them, startups are carving out something new. Something leaner. Faster. More open. More human.

They’re asking different questions. Building different things. Launching at different speeds.

And perhaps most importantly, they’re proving that space isn’t just for the few—it’s for the bold, the resourceful, the curious.