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Free and Subsidised CubeSat Launches for Universities: NASA CSLI, ESA Fly Your Satellite!, KiboCUBE and EU IOD/IOV

Oct 24, 2026

Universities and non-profit teams can launch a CubeSat without paying for the launch through a handful of public programmes: NASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) for US institutions, ESA's Fly Your Satellite! for student teams in ESA Member States and partner countries, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) programmes KiboCUBE, EXOpod and Accessing space with Vega C for developing economies, and the EU's In-Orbit Demonstration and Validation (IOD/IOV) calls, which co-fund launches for European technology demonstrations. In every case the team still pays to build, test, license and operate the satellite, and none of the programmes guarantees a date. Which one fits depends mainly on where your institution is based.

This guide compares who can apply, what is actually free, which sizes are accepted, when calls open and how long it takes to reach orbit. Facts come from the programme pages listed under Sources, read on 24 October 2026; where a page is silent, we say so.

The short answer: which programme fits your team

  • NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative: US educational institutions, certain non-profit organisations and informal education institutions such as museums and science centres. Launch and deployment are provided by NASA; the team funds the satellite. Announcements usually open in August with proposals due in November.
  • ESA Fly Your Satellite!: university student teams from ESA Member States and a few partner countries. ESA provides training, expert support, test facilities and, for teams that prove readiness, a launch opportunity. The last launch-track call closed on 21 January 2024.
  • UNOOSA KiboCUBE (with JAXA): public institutions in developing economies and economies in transition. One 1U CubeSat per selected entity, deployed from the Japanese Kibo module of the International Space Station. The 9th round closed on 31 December 2025, with deployment expected in 2028.
  • UNOOSA and Exolaunch EXOpod: same eligibility group. 1U to 3U CubeSats, deployer slot and launch services provided free of charge by Exolaunch. Four teams were selected in June 2025.
  • UNOOSA and Avio, Accessing space with Vega C: a 3U CubeSat launched at no cost on Vega C; the first awardee was a University of Nairobi consortium in February 2023.
  • EU IOD/IOV and the Flight Ticket Initiative: European companies and organisations, including universities, that want to demonstrate new technology in orbit. The launch is co-funded, the build is not. The final cut-off is 15 March 2027.

A university in Germany, Austria or Switzerland therefore has two public routes: Fly Your Satellite! and the EU calls. Anyone whose timeline does not match a call ends up comparing commercial rideshare offers.

NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI)

NASA describes CSLI as a programme that "provides opportunities for CubeSats built by U.S. educational institutions, and non-profit organizations, including informal educational institutions such as museums and science centers to fly on upcoming launches". NASA's Launch Services Program manifests the selected CubeSats with different launch providers, and each launch that carries CSLI payloads gets an ELaNa number (Educational Launch of Nanosatellites). The CSLI page states that the initiative has launched over 150 CubeSats; NASA's August 2024 release gave the figure as about 160.

What NASA provides and what the team pays, according to that release:

  • Provided: a launch and deployment, either directly from a rocket or into low Earth orbit from the International Space Station, plus NASA mission managers who advise the team and help it meet technical, safety and regulatory requirements.
  • Paid by the team: "Applicants are responsible for funding the development of the small satellites."
  • No guarantee: selection does not guarantee a launch opportunity.

Timing. The CSLI page says the Announcement of Partnership Opportunity "is typically released each August with proposals due in November". The 2024 announcement had a deadline of 5 p.m. EST on 15 November, selections were expected by 14 March 2025, and the selected missions are for flight opportunities in 2026 to 2029. That gives a planning rule: from proposal to a possible launch, plan in years, not months. NASA's small spacecraft opportunities page lists the 2024 announcement as the most recent CSLI solicitation when we checked it, so watch the CSLI page for the next call rather than assuming one is open.

ESA Fly Your Satellite!

Fly Your Satellite! (FYS) is ESA Education's hands-on programme for university student teams. The call for the fourth edition, which closed on 21 January 2024 at 23:59 CET, describes what ESA offers:

  • Support: ESA specialists accompany the team through assembly, integration and verification.
  • Training: tailored courses on standard spacecraft development practices.
  • Testing: access to ESA test facilities.
  • Launch: a launch opportunity for teams that demonstrate readiness and compliance with technical and safety requirements.

The call accepted 1U, 2U, 3U and 3U+ CubeSats and, for the first time, 1P, 2P and 3P PocketQubes. Teams had to have manufactured and tested their subsystems already and be ready to start integration soon after acceptance. Launches target low Earth orbit with natural decay below five years, as rideshare or piggyback passengers.

Track record. ESA's programme history lists launches on Vega's maiden flight, Soyuz VS14 in April 2016, from the ISS, on Vega VV19 in August 2021, and, for the most recent edition with flown satellites, EIRSAT-1 on 1 December 2023 and 3Cat4 and ISTSat-1 on 9 July 2024. The fourth edition selected four teams in 2024, including the first PocketQubes.

The parts without a launch. FYS also runs Design Booster, which helps teams at the design stage, and Test Opportunities, in which teams run environmental tests at ESA's CubeSat Support Facility. The Test Opportunities call opened in January 2026 for university student teams from ESA Member States, Canada, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia; ESA selected teams from Queen Mary University of London and AGH University of Kraków for the July 2026 test window. These tracks are valuable for a team that is not yet ready to fly, but they do not include a launch.

The launch track runs in editions, not every year, and the pages we read do not announce a fifth edition.

UNOOSA Access to Space for All: KiboCUBE, EXOpod and Vega C

UNOOSA's Access to Space for All initiative pools several launch opportunities offered with partners. They share one rule: they are for developing economies and economies in transition.

KiboCUBE (UNOOSA and JAXA)

KiboCUBE started in 2015. The announcement for the 9th round sets the terms:

  • Eligible: government bodies, research institutes, universities and other public organisations in developing economies and economies in transition that are UN Member States. Private companies, NGOs and non-profit agencies are excluded.
  • Offer: one 1U CubeSat per selected entity, for at most two entities. JAXA arranges the launch to the ISS and the deployment from Kibo.
  • Paid by the team: design, build, testing and operation of the CubeSat, its ground station, radio licensing and registration, plus employment, travel and transportation costs.
  • Timing: applications closed on 31 December 2025, results were expected by mid-February 2026, and deployment is expected in 2028. The preparation period is about 15 to 18 months.

EXOpod (UNOOSA and Exolaunch)

The first EXOpod round offered up to two entities a slot for a 1U to 3U CubeSat in low Earth orbit. Exolaunch provides one EXOpod deployer slot and launch services "free of charge", subject to the availability of UNOOSA and Exolaunch funds. The CubeSat must fit the EXOpod Nova deployer and pass environmental tests that follow the SpaceX Rideshare Payload User's Guide. Deployment was planned for 2026 to 2027. On 30 June 2025 Exolaunch announced that four institutions from Bolivia, Guatemala, Jordan and Nepal were selected from 17 proposals from 15 countries, each with a fully funded launch slot.

Accessing space with Vega C (UNOOSA and Avio)

On 10 February 2023 UNOOSA and Avio announced the first awardee: a consortium led by the University of Nairobi with the University of Arizona and the non-profit Space Trust, which "will launch a CubeSat at no cost on board the Vega C rocket". The satellite is a 3U CubeSat. Our Vega C guide covers the launcher itself.

EU IOD/IOV and the Flight Ticket Initiative

For European universities that want to fly new technology, the EU route is often the most realistic. The European Commission's IOD/IOV calls pre-select experiments and ready-to-fly satellites, and ESA buys the launches from European providers under the Flight Ticket Initiative. The final cut-off of the multiple cut-off call is 15 March 2027 at 18:00 CET.

Two points separate it from the education programmes above. First, it is a technology demonstration programme: the satellite has to test technology or services in orbit, not only train students. Second, applicants pay their own development up to the flight model; the EU funds the launch. We explain the call structure, the providers and the first missions in our Flight Ticket Initiative guide.

What "free" covers and what it does not

Every programme above takes over the same cost block: the launch slot and, where stated, the deployer and integration. The rest of the mission budget stays with the team. Based on the programme documents, plan for these items yourself:

  • Satellite development and flight hardware: stated explicitly by NASA, by UNOOSA and in the Danish ministry's summary of the EU call.
  • Environmental testing: vibration and thermal vacuum tests to the launcher's levels. FYS gives access to ESA facilities; the UNOOSA calls list testing as the team's job.
  • Radio licensing and frequency coordination: named as the team's responsibility in the UNOOSA announcements. Our guide on how to launch your own satellite lists the permits.
  • Registration of the space object: also listed by UNOOSA as a team task.
  • Ground station and operations.

A planning example for a European university team

The following is our own planning derivation, not an official timeline. Assume a university institute in Germany is building a 3U CubeSat that tests a new star tracker. The flight unit is expected to be tested by mid-2028, and third-party funding for the project ends in 2029.

  • CSLI: not eligible, because the institute is not a US institution.
  • UNOOSA programmes: not eligible, because Germany is not in the developing or transition economy group.
  • Fly Your Satellite!: eligible in principle, but there is no open launch call on the ESA pages we read. The team can watch for a new edition and use the Test Opportunities track for its test campaign.
  • EU IOD/IOV: a fit, because the star tracker is a technology demonstration. The application must be in by 15 March 2027, about 20 weeks from today. If the team is selected, ESA tenders the launch in a batch, and the launcher and date follow from that tender.
  • Commercial fallback: because the funding ends in 2029 and no public route guarantees a date, the team requests commercial rideshare offers in parallel. SpaceX lists $7,500 per kg for 2027 rideshare with a 50 kg minimum per plate, as explained in our price per kg article. A 3U CubeSat is far below that minimum, so it would normally fly through an integrator that shares a plate and quotes per slot.

Research institutes usually have to request several offers before they buy a service. Collecting them early also tells the team what the fallback costs, which helps when a selection decision arrives late or not at all. Our guide on how to request launch quotes lists what an inquiry must contain so that providers quote on the same basis.

Checklist before you apply

  • Eligibility of your legal entity: country, type of institution and, for UNOOSA, the economic classification of your country.
  • Purpose: education (CSLI, FYS, UNOOSA) or technology demonstration (EU IOD/IOV).
  • Readiness: FYS required tested subsystems at the time of the call; the EU ready-to-fly call expects a finished satellite.
  • Size: KiboCUBE takes 1U only, EXOpod 1U to 3U, the FYS fourth edition 1U to 3U+ and PocketQubes.
  • Schedule: in the calls above, proposal and launch are two or more years apart (our reading of the CSLI and KiboCUBE timelines); KiboCUBE gives 15 to 18 months of preparation alone. See our article on launch lead times.
  • Fallback: none of the programmes guarantees a launch date, so keep a commercial option open.

FAQ: Frequently asked questions

Can a university launch a CubeSat for free?

Yes, through programmes such as NASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative for US institutions, ESA's Fly Your Satellite! for student teams in ESA Member States and partner countries, and UNOOSA's KiboCUBE, EXOpod and Vega C opportunities for developing economies. The launch is covered, but the team pays for building, testing, licensing and operating the satellite.

Can European universities apply to NASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative?

No. NASA limits CSLI to US educational institutions, certain non-profit organisations and informal educational institutions in the US. European teams look at ESA Fly Your Satellite! and the EU IOD/IOV calls.

When does the CSLI call open?

NASA says the Announcement of Partnership Opportunity is typically released each August with proposals due in November. The 2024 call had a deadline of 15 November and selections for flights in 2026 to 2029.

Is ESA Fly Your Satellite! open right now?

The last launch-track call, for the fourth edition, closed on 21 January 2024. ESA ran a Test Opportunities call in January 2026, which offers environmental testing but no launch. Check the ESA Education pages for a new edition.

Who can apply to KiboCUBE?

Government bodies, research institutes, universities and other public organisations in developing economies and economies in transition that are UN Member States. Private companies and NGOs are excluded. The programme deploys one 1U CubeSat per selected entity from the ISS.

Does the EU pay for my CubeSat?

The EU IOD/IOV calls and the Flight Ticket Initiative co-fund the launch, not the satellite. Applicants cover their development costs up to the flight model. The final cut-off is 15 March 2027.

Related reading

While you wait for a programme decision, you can prepare the commercial option on Carrier Space. Compare launch vehicles, scheduled rideshare missions and providers and integrators, then send one inquiry to up to five providers and brokers. The form lets you describe a CubeSat, your organisation type and your funding status. Carrier Space checks the inquiry and forwards it anonymously, and indicative offers come back in one comparable view, which helps institutes that need several offers. Comparison and inquiry are free for customers.

Sources

Cover image: the STF-1 CubeSat of West Virginia University and NASA IV&V, prepared for NASA's ELaNa 19 mission, NASA/Cory Huston (public domain, NASA image KSC-20180412-PH_CSH01_0013).

Vehicles and providers in this article

Vega CAvioExolaunchSpaceX