Sunstorm (spacecraft)

Sunstorm

Names	SUNSTORM 1 XFM Cube XFM CubeSat
Mission type	space weather, heliophysics, technology demonstration
Operator	European Space Agency
COSPAR ID	2021-073C
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	2U CubeSat
Manufacturer	Kuva Space
Start of mission
Launch date	17 August 2021
Rocket	Vega
End of mission
Disposal	deorbited
Declared	4 September 2024
General Support Technology Programme (GSTP) ←  RadCube PRETTY  →

Sunstorm was a heliophysics and space weather monitoring technology demonstration CubeSat-type satellite by the European Space Agency (ESA). During its three-year mission in the low Earth orbit (LEO), Sunstorm successfully tested a miniaturised X-Ray Flux Monitor (XFM) instrument by observing solar flares. It was launched in 2021 on a Vega rocket and reentered the atmosphere in 2024. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]}

See also

• List of European Space Agency programmes and missions

References

1. "Space Weather Cubesat: Sunstorm Satellite Completes Mission - IEEE Spectrum". spectrum.ieee.org. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
2. Lehtolainen, A.; Huovelin, J.; Korpela, S.; Kilpua, E.; Andersson, H.; Giurisato, D.; Lehti, J.; Saari, J.; Peltonen, J.; Säntti, T.; Hirvonen, M.; Talvioja, M.; Luntama, T.; Kuhno, J.; Solin, O. (2022). "SUNSTORM 1/X-ray Flux Monitor for CubeSats (XFM-CS): Instrument characterization and first results". Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment. 1035 166865. doi: 10.1016/j.nima.2022.166865 . ISSN   0168-9002.
3. "Sunstorm (XFM Cube, XFM CubeSat)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
4. Kulu, Erik. "Sunstorm". Nanosats Database. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
5. "Sunstorm starts measuring Sun's X-ray radiation with a cutting edge miniature instrument". kuvaspace.com. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
6. "Sunstorm CubeSat developed by Kuva Space and Isaware successfully completes mission and re-enters Earth's atmosphere". kuvaspace.com. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
7. "SunStorm". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
8. "Sunstorm CubeSat - eoPortal". www.eoportal.org. Archived from the original on 2024-09-28. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
9. Agency, European Space. "NOAA adopts Finland's CubeSat-proven space weather monitor". phys.org. Retrieved 2025-09-26.