Dcubed Solar Arrays Selected to Power Intuitive Machines’ First Space Data Network Satellite

Space missions rely on uninterrupted access to data for navigation, communications, coordination, and research. Yet today’s space networks are often fragmented and limited by coverage, bandwidth, and latency—making it harder to maintain contact, coordinate assets, and deploy missions with confidence. 

To address these challenges, Intuitive Machines is building a Space Data Network (SDN) that spans Earth proximity, cislunar, and extended cislunar regions, supporting activity from the surface of the Moon to two million kilometers from Earth. It is designed to serve a diverse set of customers, including commercial operators, national space agencies, national security space, and scientific institutions. 

As Intuitive Machines prepares to deploy the first of six satellites in the network, the company has selected Dcubed to provide the solar array subsystem for the initial spacecraft. The satellite is scheduled for 2026 and is designed to support high-capacity data transmission, autonomous coordination, and precision navigation services. 

Maintaining continual uptime across the SDN requires a power system that can perform reliably despite the environmental and operational constraints of space. Dcubed addresses these challenges with a compact, rigid deployable array engineered for reliable performance in harsh space environments. The rigid deployable design offers structural stability once deployed and compact stowage during launch, supporting reliable power delivery without compromising spacecraft volume or mass. 

Dcubed’s contribution includes two rigid deployable solar wings designed to deliver 2 kW of end-of-life power output. The arrays are engineered for reliability and compact deployment, supporting the satellite’s operational requirements without exceeding mass or volume constraints. Once integrated into Intuitive Machines’ communications and Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) architecture, the solar array subsystem will enable the Space Data Network (SDN) to deliver low-latency services across lunar and cislunar domains. 

Powering Space Operations 

Ushering in the era of space-based IoT, the SDN can power launch, robotic exploration, lunar surface operations, orbital platforms, and reentry coordination. Now, with the Intuitive Machines SDN, customers can bypass the delays, dependencies, and fragmentation of traditional architectures—retrieving and acting on their space data at minimal latency without waiting on ground station schedules, Earth-based tracking, or siloed mission systems. 

Stay tuned as we continue to build the infrastructure that will connect the Moon and the future of space exploration. 

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