Pick the mission
You negotiate the objectives with the stakeholders and set the requirements: science, budget and deadlines have to fit together.
A space mission design game
You run an agency: pick the mission, build a CubeSat, take it through testing and launch. Made for NASA Space Apps Challenge 2026 in Milan.
The game in half a minute.
A real playthrough, from the campus to mission control: the CubeSat takes shape, passes its vibration test and lifts off.
- In the browser
It runs on a computer and on a phone, with nothing to install.
- Saves
Your game stays saved in the browser you play in.
- Players
You play solo. Multiplayer missions arrive with the consortia.
- Language
The game text is in English for now.
The game in 5 steps. From idea to orbit.
Build the CubeSat
You fit instruments and subsystems one part at a time. Mass, power, data and cost change with every choice.
Pass the 3 tests
Vibration, balance and thermal vacuum are minigames. Faults have to show up on the ground.
Launch the mission
You pick the launcher by ΔV and payload capacity, then the countdown starts.
Fly the CubeSat in orbit
From Mission Control you follow the whole mission and decide what to do when the satellite drops into safe mode.
Go or
No-Go
Every launch comes down to this question. You answer it with your design's numbers: mass, power, ΔV and risk.
See the methodA game built on the NASA method.
- Phases A to F
The project moves through phases and passes the MCR, PDR, CDR and FRR reviews.
- Components from NASA TechPort
Instruments and subsystems point to their TechPort record.
- Orbits with NASA GMAT
GMAT R2025a works out ΔV, eclipses and ground-station contacts for Earth, the Moon, Mars and Venus.
- CubeSat 101
The path follows NASA's guide for first-time CubeSat developers.
Consortia, coming soon.
Up to four players on the same mission, each with a role: Planning, Satellite, Science or Communications. Everyone votes before launch.
