Texas State University · Department of Physics
Space Lab is a research lab in the Department of Physics at Texas State University. Founded in 2023, with origins in student-led high-altitude balloon missions stretching back to 2019, the lab develops satellites, ground systems, and near-space payloads in San Marcos, Texas. Our active missions include PROVES-Maia, which is a CubeSat developed in collaboration with five universities through NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative. We also operate our own ground command, supporting satellite communications for current and future missions. The lab welcomes members from any major, grade level, or amount of experience, and collaborates with universities, researchers, and space agencies — we believe space science is a field that gets better the more people are invited into it.
A 6U CubeSat that learns in orbit to control its own trajectory using differential drag and reinforcement learning — no propellant required. Funded under the UNP Mission Concept program.
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A CubeSat developed in collaboration with five universities through the Pleiades Five Program, launching with NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative.
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A NASA MUREP-funded curriculum — six hands-on CubeSat workshops broadening access to space-technology training for underrepresented students.
Read moreLab members will present work on open-source software, hardware-in-the-loop CI for CubeSats, attitude determination, and the PROVES program at the Small Satellite Conference in Salt Lake City this August.
Space Lab’s ADAPT proposal — a 6U CubeSat that learns to control its own orbit using differential drag and reinforcement learning — was selected for the 2026 UNP Mission Concept program.
The CubeSat will undergo environmental qualification at NASA Johnson Space Center before being handed off to the launch provider.
NASA MUREP MPLAN award supports STEM Diversity through CubeSat Technology — a six-workshop hands-on curriculum aimed at broadening participation in space-technology training.
We accept members from any major, grade level, and amount of experience.
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