IST NanosatLab

What IST NanosatLab does

IST NanosatLab (ISTNanosat) is an academic research team at Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, operating from the Taguspark campus in Porto Salvo, Portugal. It is developing ISTSat-1, a 1U CubeSat (10 cm cube, up to 1.33 kg) carrying a miniaturized ADS-B receiver at 1090 MHz, with the goal of running a feasibility study for space-based aircraft tracking in regions beyond terrestrial coverage (oceans, deserts, mountains). The project is positioned as the first Portuguese CubeSat and is being executed under ESA's Fly Your Satellite! program.

The satellite's technology stack is deliberately low-power and software-driven: ADS-B decoding is performed on a general-purpose microprocessor rather than a typical FPGA, supported by a custom planar patch antenna at 1090 MHz and a proprietary ISTNanosat Control Protocol (INCP) for inter-subsystem communication. Subsystems include a custom Electrical Power System with MPPT, a software-based radiation mitigation layer, a distributed software architecture, and an ADCS achieving better than 5° pointing accuracy in X/Y axes. The team has completed thermal vacuum, vibration, EMC, and radiation test campaigns at ESA and ANACOM facilities, with associated peer-reviewed publications spanning journals such as the International Journal of Satellite Communications and Networking and conferences including the European CubeSat Symposium and ASME IDETC-CIE.

IST NanosatLab has no commercial revenue, pricing model, or external equity investors. It is funded through ESA program support, institutional co-development partners (INESC-ID, Instituto de Telecomunicações, IDMEC, IST), and a diversified sponsor base that includes ANACOM, AMRAD, AMSAT-CT, IPQ, CGD, DOrbit, LusoSpace, Active Space Technology, Primetec, and Fernando Ferro e Irmão. Its "customers" in the conventional sense are university students (Bachelor's, Master's, PhD) at IST who use the project as a hands-on space engineering training platform, alongside ESA as the primary institutional stakeholder.

Name

IST NanosatLab

Legal name

ISTNanosat (IST NanosatLab)

Website

https://istsat-one.tecnico.ulisboa.pt

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

IST NanosatLab is a non-profit university research team at Instituto Superior Técnico (Lisbon) developing ISTSat-1, a 1U CubeSat demonstrating miniaturized space-based ADS-B aircraft tracking under ESA's Fly Your Satellite! program, primarily serving engineering students and the European Space Agency.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

CubeSat Nanosatellite Engineering

NAICS

Satellite Telecommunications (51741), Space Research and Technology (92711)

SIC

Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812), Radio & Tv Broadcasting & Communications Equipment (3663)

akta.pro primary industry

Space Payloads & Instruments (Sensors, Comms, EO/IR) (IMABACAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Spacecraft Integration, Assembly & Test (IAT) (IMABACAK), Satellite, GNSS & Positioning RF ICs (HDAHAMAJ)

Keywords

• CubeSat development
• Nanosatellite engineering
• ADS-B aircraft tracking
• Space-based surveillance
• University space research

Headquarters

HQ city

Porto Salvo (Oeiras)

HQ country

Portugal

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. No commercial revenue: ISTSat-1 is an educational and research satellite development project. No commercial products or services are sold. The project is entirely funded through ESA program support, institutional sponsors, and government/academic grants. There is no revenue generation from satellite operations or data sales.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

IST NanosatLab develops ISTSat-1, a 1U CubeSat (10 cm cube picosatellite, up to 1.33 kg) designed to be the first Portuguese CubeSat and to demonstrate the feasibility of using a nanosatellite to receive ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast) aircraft signals in areas unreachable by terrestrial stations such as oceans, deserts, and mountains. The CubeSat carries a miniaturized ADS-B receiver operating at 1090 MHz with a planar patch antenna, and the project also serves an educational mission of providing hands-on space engineering training to university students.

Product overview

IST NanosatLab (ISTNanosat team) operates as a single-product educational nanosatellite development effort centered on ISTSat-1, a 1U CubeSat. The project, based at Instituto Superior Técnico's Taguspark campus, is developed under ESA's Fly Your Satellite! program. The sole product, ISTSat-1, is designed as a space-based ADS-B demonstration mission to test a compact ADS-B receiver and antenna, comparing collected aircraft surveillance data with terrestrial stations to assess the feasibility of using CubeSats for global aircraft tracking. The development has produced multiple supporting components including a ground segment, control protocol (INCP), and various subsystem designs documented through master's theses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ISTSat-1: The 1U CubeSat being developed by the ISTNanosat team - Portugal's first Portuguese CubeSat to be launched into space. It carries an ADS-B receiver for aircraft tracking feasibility study.

Products and services

• ISTSat-1 ISTSat-1 is a 1U CubeSat (10 cm cube picosatellite) developed under ESA's Fly Your Satellite! program. It carries a miniaturized ADS-B receiver and planar patch antenna (1090 MHz) to receive aircraft surveillance signals from Low Earth Orbit. The mission compares collected ADS-B data with terrestrial stations to assess the feasibility of using CubeSats as ADS-B support satellites covering oceans, deserts, and mountains. It also serves a hands-on educational mission for university students.

Quantifiable outcome

• First Portuguese CubeSat to be launched into space
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• European Space Agency (ESA) — Fly Your Satellite! ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2017ESA's Fly Your Satellite! program is the primary institutional partnership. Accepted in March 2017, the program provides professional support throughout satellite development, access to ESA test facilities, financial support for workshops and training, and a guaranteed launch opportunity. The team must periodically demonstrate progress to ESA to remain in the program.
• INESC-ID (Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores, Desenvolvimento e Tecnologia)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerINESC-ID is a key research institute partner providing institutional support and expertise to the ISTNanosat team. Listed as a primary sponsor/institutional partner in the project's funding section.
• Instituto de Telecomunicações (IT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInstituto de Telecomunicações is a telecommunications research institute listed as a sponsor, providing research expertise relevant to the ADS-B communications payload.
• IDMEC (Instituto de Desenvolvimento e Investigação em Engenharia Civil)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerIDMEC is a research institute in mechanical and aerospace engineering listed as a sponsor, contributing to the engineering development aspects of the CubeSat.
• ANACOM (Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerANACOM's Testing and Calibration Laboratory (LEC) conducted an Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) analysis for space environments, testing the ISTSat-1 CubeSat as a case study, focused on feasibility of EMC testing for space objects per ECSS standards.
• Instituto Superior Técnico (IST)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe host institution for the project. IST provides the academic framework, faculty supervisors, campus facilities (including Taguspark campus with clean rooms and testing equipment), and student recruitment pipeline.
• AMRAD (Associação de Radioamadores)supportingTechnology or IntegrationAMRAD is an amateur radio association that collaborates with the team, contributing amateur radio expertise to the satellite communications development.
• AMSAT-CTsupportingTechnology or IntegrationAMSAT-CT (Amateur Satellite Organization) works with the ISTNanosat team, contributing amateur satellite technical knowledge to the ground segment and communications development.
• IPQ (Instituto Português da Qualidade)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerIPQ (Portuguese Quality Institute) is listed as a sponsor, potentially contributing standards and quality assurance expertise relevant to satellite development.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• EnduroSat: EnduroSat designs and operates shared CubeSat platforms and turnkey missions for commercial and academic customers. It closely mirrors IST NanosatLab's CubeSat integration and mission-services model, though at commercial scale.
• GomSpace: GomSpace is a leading commercial provider of CubeSat platforms, subsystems, and turnkey missions. It is directly comparable to ISTSat-1's CubeSat bus, ADCS, EPS, and communications subsystem work, and represents the commercial counterpart the team must compete with for downstream mission contracts.
• NanoAvionics: NanoAvionics provides small satellite buses, mission integration, and constellation services for CubeSat and microsatellite customers. It is a direct architectural and commercial peer in delivering integrated 1U–12U satellite missions.
• ISIS - Innovative Solutions In Space: ISIS supplies CubeSat structures, subsystems (like their CubeSat ADCS), and full mission services, and is a frequent partner for academic teams. It is directly comparable to the ISTSat-1 bus, ADCS, and integration work.

Regional players

• LusoSpace: LusoSpace is a Portuguese space hardware company developing small satellites and space-qualified electronics, and is a sponsor of ISTSat-1. It is a regional peer in Portuguese space technology development and a potential industrial follow-on home for the team's alumni.
• D-Orbit: D-Orbit is an Italian in-orbit logistics and satellite deployment company that is both a sponsor of ISTSat-1 and a regional space industry peer. It is comparable as a European small-satellite commercial player with overlapping ecosystem relationships.
• Active Space Technologies: Active Space Technologies is a Portuguese company providing mechanical and thermal engineering for space systems, including mechanisms and CubeSat deployers. It is a sponsor of ISTSat-1 and a regional peer in the Portuguese space supply chain.

Broad incumbents

• Spire Global: Spire operates a large commercial nanosatellite constellation providing weather, ship-tracking, and aircraft surveillance data. It is a broader incumbent in LEO nanosatellite constellation services, comparable in platform class but vastly larger in scale and commercialization.
• Aireon: Aireon operates the operational space-based ADS-B service via the Iridium constellation (66 LEO satellites). It is the dominant real-world deployment of the exact mission ISTSat-1 aims to demonstrate feasibility for, making it the most relevant competitive benchmark even though it is much larger and commercial.

Emerging players

• University of Michigan M-BRIDGE / MIT Lincoln Lab / Academic CubeSat Teams: Academic CubeSat development teams at leading universities (MIT, Michigan, Stanford, TU Delft, etc.) operate analogous student-led 1U/3U CubeSat programs with ESA or NASA backing. They are the most direct peer group in mission scope, team structure, and funding model even though they are not commercial entities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/istsat_one
• Facebookfacebook.com/istsatone
• Instagraminstagram.com/istsat_one
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ist-nanosatlab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about IST NanosatLab