The primary mission objective is to demonstrate and qualify new small-satellite technologies for the future IRS projects. As a secondary objective, multiple scientific earth observation experiments are planned.

Technology evaluation (go to technology page):

• FPGA on-board computer
• High speed Ka-band communication
• Solar cells
• High accurate attitude control system
• GENIUS - GPS experiment
• ‘Rent-a-sat’ mode
  

Science (go to science page):

• BRDF measurement
• Precipitation measurement using Ka & Ku-band
• Atmospheric attenuation in the Ka-band frequency range
• Multispectral earth observation
• Near Earth Objects
  

The satellite body has a cubical shape with an edge length of approx. 60 cm and a mass of less than 100 kg. In the figure below the general design of the satellite including its components is shown. The launch as a piggyback payload is planned pursuing a polar, sun-synchronous, low earth orbit below 1000 km. As scientific payload the satellite is equipped with a three camera system (VIS/NIR), a thermal infrared (TIR) camera and a Ka-band communication system with a high power travelling wave tube amplifier (TWT). Thereby the last two payloads are intended to make dual use of a cassegrain mirror system. The on-board computer consists of a reconfigurable, redundant and self-controlling field programmable gate array (FPGA) with high computational power.

Many of the currently listed facts will become more accurate as time progresses, and updates will follow.