The mission

Henon will be the first ever CubeSat to independently venture into deep space, communicate with Earth and perform significant manoeuvres to get to its final destination without relying on a bigger spacecraft.

Once in its orbit around the Sun, the carry-on luggage-sized CubeSat will observe the Sun’s emissions to demonstrate technologies capable of providing advanced warnings of solar storms hours before they reach Earth.

The launch

Launch: planned for April 2027

Launch location: Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana

Launch vehicle: Ariane 6

Orbit: Distant Retrograde Orbit (DRO) around the Sun

[ Technology ]

16 JUL. 2026

Deep space pioneer Henon signs to launch with Plato

This week the launch services contract was signed for the Heliospheric Pioneer for Solar and Interplanetary Threats Defence (Henon) mission, ESA’s first stand-alone deep-space CubeSat, confirming that the pioneering spacecraft ...

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[ Technology ]

ARHIVIRANA VSEBINA: 29 OKT. 2025

ESA’s first stand-alone deep-space CubeSat Henon takes shape

The European Space Agency’s upcoming Henon mission will be the first ever CubeSat to independently venture into deep space, communicate with Earth and manoeuvre to its final destination without relying on a bigger spacecraft. Once in its orbit around the Sun, the carry-on luggage-sized CubeSat will observe the Sun’s emissions to demonstrate technologies capable of providing advanced warnings of solar storms hours before they reach Earth.

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