Overview
- NASA outlined the deployment sequence and confirmed Atenea will be released first, about five hours after liftoff, with one‑minute intervals between CubeSats.
- Atenea is integrated with the mission’s deployment system and is ready for launch from Kennedy Space Center in a window opening February 6 and running into late April.
- The 12U CubeSat will measure radiation in deep space, assess commercial electronics performance, capture GPS data from unconventional orbits, and prove long‑range communications.
- Argentina is the only Latin American participant, with Atenea flying alongside CubeSats from Germany, South Korea and Saudi Arabia as international secondary payloads on Artemis II.
- CONAE led development with Argentine universities, research institutes and VENG; assembly and testing occurred at the Teófilo Tabanera Space Center, with planned ground contacts in Falda del Carmen, Tolhuin and partner facilities in Vietnam.