(
CUBE-based
SATellite) A satellite in the shape of a cube roughly four inches in each dimension and weighing three pounds. As of 2022, more than a thousand CubeSats are in orbit. Developed at the turn of the century originally for academic projects, CubeSats today are used mostly for commercial projects and testing. The lower cost of a CubeSat enables experiments that would otherwise be too expensive. See
miniaturized satellite.