NanoAvionics unveils 500kg MP42D bus for Gen-2 satellite line
NanoAvionics · Kongsberg
Kongsberg NanoAvionics added a 500kg-class MP42D platform to its Gen-2 microsatellite bus lineup, aimed at ISR payloads.
what happened
Kongsberg NanoAvionics unveiled an upgraded Gen-2 family of its MP42 microsatellite buses on August 24, adding a new 500-kilogram-class MP42D platform, the company's largest and most capable bus to date, per Via Satellite and SatNews. The MP42D carries up to 250 kilograms of payload on an ESPA-Grande form factor and is built for high-power optical, SAR and SIGINT payloads, with kilowatt-class solar arrays, multi-kilowatt batteries and optical inter-satellite links up to 2.5 Gbps; the standard Gen-2 MP42 bus increases payload volume and mass capacity by more than 50% over its predecessor and extends mission life from five to seven years in a 750km sun-synchronous orbit.
why it matters
NanoAvionics says more than 10 million euros of Gen-2 platforms are already built or delivered, with customers including Satlantis, SuperSharp, Kreios Space and parent company Kongsberg's own N3X maritime-surveillance constellation; a 500kg bus pushes the company further into the mid-size satellite segment, and the defense-payload framing signals where NanoAvionics expects its next orders to come from.
signal-to-noise
quick facts
- Companies
- NanoAvionics, Kongsberg
- Category
- product
- Impact
- noise
- SNR
- 4 / 5
- Event date
- 2026-08-24
- Published
- 2026-08-25 05:35 UTC