Date Time Pioneering a way to keep very small satellites in orbit A cubesat, largely built by undergraduate students and scheduled to launch on Sunday, will explore the feasibility of a new propulsion method that could enable very small satellites to move around Earth’s orbit without carrying fuel. This could pave the way for tiny satellites that stay in orbit for long periods and operate in swarms, monitoring storms and natural disasters, for example. A cubesat is about the size of a loaf of bread, designed to hitch a ride into space with a major mission. Cubesats are low-cost ways to test out new technologies or enable students to get hands-on experience with space exploration. MiTEE is scheduled to fly from the Mojave Air and Space Port on Virgin Orbit’s Launch Demo 2.