CubeSpace

CubeSpace is a South African company that makes attitude determination and control systems (ADCS) for small satellites. Its products are backed by a decade of flight heritage. The company says it has more than 300 satisfied customers, has deployed over 500 ADCS systems and has enabled more than 10 constellations.

Its main product is the Turn-Key ADCS. It is a customisable, plug and play closed loop control solution, and it can be supplied as an integrated system or as a distributed node system. It connects to a customer's on board computer and can add third party hardware where a mission needs it. Its control algorithms come from flight heritage, and customers can upgrade all firmware, including the bootloader.

CubeSpace also sells single ADCS components. These are reaction wheels, magnetorquer rods, magnetometers, fine sun sensors, Earth horizon sensors and star trackers. The reaction wheels are described as a reliable, high performance range. The magnetorquer rods are compact and customisable, and the star trackers are compact and high performance. The company says it serves satellites of up to 1 ton, including 3 to 6U compact systems.

The company works from a new 1,750 square metre facility. It has an 80 square metre cleanroom and a 275 square metre production area. CubeSpace says it more than doubled its production capacity in the past year to meet demand for larger volumes on short lead times. It follows international space standards, guided by ESA's ECSS and NASA's GEVS standards, and it has in house testing.

Customers get a free mission analysis before they place an order. Standard orders have lead times of 8 to 12 weeks. Each ADCS can be supplied with ground support equipment and a Health Check App. Its D2S2 simulation software is available as an annual subscription. Engineers support customers through the whole mission, from sale to commissioning.

CubeSpace started in the nanosat market in 2014. It entered the microsat market in 2022 and supplied its first microsat ADCS system of 200 kg in 2023. In 2024 it was contracted to supply an ADCS system for a 400 kg satellite. In 2026 it began international expansion into Europe. The company holds AS9100 quality certification.

The team has more than 90 people, including over 30 engineers and over 30 technicians and technologists. The company says the team has more than a century of combined experience in control systems. Its engineers hold IPC class 3 training.

CubeSpace lists Space Tech Expo Europe in Bremen, Germany, from 17 to 19 November 2026 among its upcoming events. Its CEO and co-founder leads the company from its Stellenbosch base.

Services

• Turn-Key ADCS
• Reaction wheels
• Magnetorquer rods
• Magnetometers
• Fine sun sensors
• Earth horizon sensors
• Star trackers
• Free mission analysis
• D2S2 simulation software
• Ground support equipment