Skip to content

ASPIRE — American Space Payload for International Research and Education

American Space Payload for International Research and Education

America's payload on the world's first global all-girls satellite mission.

  • 12,000

    Students

  • 108

    Countries

  • 12U

    CubeSat bus

  • 7

    Payloads

01The parent mission

Global Girrlz SAT

Global Girrlz SAT is Phase II of Mission ShakthiSAT, the world's first global all-girls satellite and lunar CubeSat mission, organised by Space Kidz India.

It brings together 12,000 high school female students from 108 countries to promote STEM education.

Learn more(opens in a new tab)
Render of the Global Girrlz SAT 12U CubeSat in orbit above Earth, solar panels deployed against the planet's limb.
Global Girrlz SAT · 12U bus, on orbit

02Broadcast

/Mann Ki Baat · 137th episode

The Prime Minister of India names the mission

In the 137th episode of Mann Ki Baat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about Mission ShakthiSAT — 12,000 girl students from 108 countries learning satellite technology, and a satellite built through their participation being prepared for lunar orbit. Global Girrlz SAT is Phase II of that mission. ASPIRE is the American payload aboard it.

All media

Mission ShaktiSAT: 12,000 girls are learning to build a satellite… for the Moon!·Narendra Modi

03The payload

ASPIRE

The American Space Payload for International Research and Education comprises two space cameras facing in the anti-nadir and anti-velocity directions.

It is aimed at conducting research in space domain awareness by capturing images of space over a period of two years.

ASPIRE camera · digital twin

Intro · 0:56

Global Girrlz SAT 2026 teaser

Phase II of Mission ShakthiSAT: 12,000 high school girls from 108 countries, one 12U CubeSat, and the ASPIRE cameras aboard it.

Global Girrlz SAT

Boresights separated by 90°

CAM-01

Anti-nadir

Points away from Earth, into space.

CAM-02

Anti-velocity

Points backward along the orbital track, against the direction of travel.

04Specification

Mission and camera

Figures as supplied by the mission team

01 / Cameras

2

02 / Mission duration

2 Years

03 / Host bus

12U

04 / Bus payloads

7

Facing
Anti-nadir / anti-velocity
Objective
Space domain awareness

Camera · created by Meridian Space Command

Digital twin render of the ASPIRE camera: an M12 lens on a green sensor board, mounted to a blue machined bracket engraved ASPIRE.
ASPIRE camera · digital twin
01
Sensor
Sony IMX477R
02
Resolution
12.3 MP
03
Optics
7.8 mm M12 lens
04
Field of view
54°
05
Compute
Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W
06
Storage
512 MB SDRAM

05Downlink

What the camera sees

Frames arrive coarse and resolve as packets land. Development hardware and prototype builds from the three partner labs.

Sample 1

FRM-001

Sample 1

Sample 2

FRM-002

Sample 2

Sample 3

FRM-003

Sample 3

Sample 4

FRM-004

Sample 4

06Partners

Three universities

The mission patch carries a jaguar, an owl and an eagle. They are the mascots of the three partners — the collaboration was drawn into the badge from the start.