- 2026-08-24
- Early customers of Gen-2 MP42 satellites include Satlantis, SuperSharp, Kreios Space, and KONGSBERG.
Vilnius, Lithuania, 24 August 2026 – Kongsberg NanoAvionics (“NanoAvionics”), a leading small satellite manufacturer and mission integrator, has introduced its Gen-2 MP42 family of modular, ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) free microsatellite buses. Designed for advanced satellite missions, such as demanding optical or SAR imaging. The Gen-2 family consists of the new, 500 kg-class flagship platform MP42D, NanoAvionics’s largest and most capable satellite bus for payloads up to 250 kilograms in mass, as well as the improved MP42 and MP42H.
The first five Gen-2 MP42 platforms have already been built or delivered to existing customers of NanoAvionics, including Satlantis, SuperSharp, as well as an undisclosed commercial operator from Southeast Asia. Together, these programs represent just over €10 million in contracted value, covering not only the platforms but additional project-specific support costs. The satellites are on track to be launched in Q4 of 2026 and during 2027.
More Gen-2 MP42 family platforms and full satellite solutions have recently been ordered by Kreios Space, KONGSBERG, and undisclosed governmental and defence customers from NATO member and ally countries. The KONGSBERG order will add three maritime surveillance satellites to the group’s own N3X constellation to address increased operational needs from the Norwegian Armed Forces.
SuperSharp’s BlueMoon will carry their deployable Hibiscus thermal infrared (TIR) telescope to deliver the highest resolution TIR data available commercially at ~3m ground sampling distance (GSD). A customized version of an MP42 bus will also be used for the Meridian Space broadband constellation.
The Gen-2 buses provide commercial and dual-use operators with greater reliability and in-orbit availability as well as reduced overall cost and lead times. With the latter being as little as 9 months from kick-off to delivery, while also covering payload integration and full system environmental and functional testing.
NanoAvionics has also increased mission life and performance for the Gen-2 buses from five years in a 600 km SSO to seven years in a 750 km SSO. This will allow customers to extract value from their satellite assets for a significantly longer period without buying and launching replacement spacecraft. The larger platform size, payload capacity, and other improvements make the new-generation MP42 buses particularly well suited for demanding intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions, including optical imaging at resolutions greater than 50 cm, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and radio-frequency scanning and emitter geolocation for signals intelligence (SIGINT).
All Gen-2 buses are based on the company’s successful Gen-1 MP42 microsatellite product family, which has been launched ten times with a cumulative orbital lifespan of more than 16 years and zero failures.
MP42D
NanoAvionics’s MP42D was developed to enable exceedingly demanding missions from both commercial and national security customers. Its ESPA-Grande-size platform – with a 500 kg max spacecraft mass housing up to 250 kilograms of payload – makes it ideal for a variety of ambitious missions, and can be paired with trusted partner payloads to offer turnkey satellite solutions for:
- very high-resolution (< 50 cm GSD) optical imagery and video,
- advanced synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery,
- meter-class mid-wave infrared (MWIR) thermal imagery.
It can also support power-hungry antennas, such as phased arrays, for high-throughput satellite communication (SatCom) missions.
The MP42D bus can be configured with optical intersatellite links (OISLs) for secure 2.5 Gbps downlink, near-real-time tasking and data delivery, which are becoming increasingly important for enhanced situational awareness and timely decision-making during conflicts. For higher payload power demands, NanoAvionics’s MP42D includes in-house-developed kilowatt-class solar arrays and multi-kilowatt battery packs.
Gen-2 MP42 product family
The growth in size of the enhanced MP42 platform (from 150kg to 200kg of max spacecraft mass) provides more than a 50% increase in payload volume and available payload mass. The new generation of MP42 platforms is now capable of carrying payloads of up to 100kg.
Further microsatellite product family improvements comprise higher satellite agility, greater GNSS (global navigation satellite system) jamming/spoofing resistance, higher radiation tolerance, more than a 3-times increase in downlink data rates, and greater pointing accuracy at all times, which is important for Earth observation and many other missions.
Atle Wollo, CEO of NanoAvionics, said: “Our Gen-2 microsatellite buses respond to increasingly advanced and demanding mission parameters. They were specifically developed to meet the growing demands of commercial and national security customers alike. Our flagship MP42D already represents a major part of our proposal pipeline in terms of total deal size and order volume. The reduced overall cost and lead times and the increased lifespan of our Gen-2 microsatellite family will also enable our customers to gain more value from their operations.
“These new defence-focused satellite platforms together with the space value chain of the KONGSBERG group spanning satellite payloads, the world’s largest ground station network, satellite operations, data processing, fusion and analytics products, and launch pad access in Andøya, make the group one of the most complete European partners for space intelligence. It allows us to serve NATO and allied nation needs with highly-integrated, proven, class-leading sovereign solutions.
“Underpinning this wider offering is NanoAvionics’ extensive flight heritage. The Gen-2 platforms draw on experience gained through numerous successful MP42 missions, including X-band SAR, thermal imaging, voice & data comms, RF maritime surveillance, space situational awareness, and others. That heritage also encompasses more than 50 launched customer CubeSats, which alone have accumulated more than 112 years of in-orbit operations.”
