The size of three cereal boxes and weighing only 26 lb (11.8 kg) each, the miniature satellites will be used to demonstrate new technologies in orbit.

CubeSats have come a long way since they were first introduced as a platform for training future space engineers. Today, they are increasingly being used to track ships, gather low-Earth orbit data, and two are even now en route to the planet Mars. Not bad for spacecraft that consist of 4 x 4 x 4 in (10 x 10 x 10 cm) cubes stuck together and run by computers on the level of a smartphone.

RainCube

The three CubeSats that will launch from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on May 21, 2018 will be removed from the unmanned cargo ship and then deployed into low-Earth orbit.