The ION Satellite Carrier is an orbital deployment platform equipped with a configurable 64U CubeSat dispenser capable of hosting mixed CubeSat configurations, as well as microsatellites with a total mass of up to 160 kg. Beyond deployment, ION provides active orbital maneuvering capabilities, including altitude and inclination changes, RAAN shifting, and true anomaly phasing.
The platform enables high-precision satellite deployment, with each spacecraft released individually via ground command. Deployment parameters — including direction, orientation, and impulse — can be customized per satellite, ensuring optimized separation dynamics and orbital spacing.
ION significantly accelerates constellation deployment, achieving up to 85% faster dispersion, greater inter-satellite distances, faster signal acquisition, and collision-free constellation formation. Between individual deployments, the carrier can adjust its orbit, enabling multi-orbit delivery from a single launch.
As a fail-safe measure, ION includes a mechanism that guarantees the release of all remaining satellites at the end of the mission, even if nominal deployment sequences are interrupted, ensuring mission completion and orbital safety.