SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Stephanie Wong, an aerospace engineering student at California Polytechnic State University, displays the research satellite, or CubeSat, frame she designed as her senior project. Up to three CubeSats fit into a Poly Picosatellite Orbital Deployer, or PPOD, container. The PPOD and CubeSat Project were developed by California Polytechnic State University and Stanford University’s Space Systems Development Lab for use on NASA’s Educational Launch of Nanosatellite, or ELaNa missions. Each CubeSat measures about four inches cubed; about the same volume as a quart. The CubeSats weigh about 2.2 pounds, must conform to standard aerospace materials and must operate without propulsion. (U.S. Air Force photo/Jerry E. Clemens, Jr.)