PION-BR2 “Cientistas de Alcântara”
PION Labs
1U CubeSat built with the Federal University of Maranhão, carrying messages from roughly 300 schoolchildren.
Technical specifications
- Form factor
- 1U CubeSat
- Mission
- STEM outreach payload carrying messages from ~300 schoolchildren
- Development partners
- UFMA (DARTi Lab, BAITES), Brazilian Space Agency (AEB), Fundação Sousândrade, UNDP, PION Labs
- Launch vehicle
- HANBIT-Nano (inaugural flight)
- Launch site
- Alcântara Launch Center, Brazil
- Launch date
- December 22, 2025
- Outcome
- Launch vehicle suffered a structural failure shortly after liftoff; payload did not reach orbit
About
PION-BR2, named “Cientistas de Alcântara” (Scientists of Alcântara), is a 1U CubeSat developed by PION Labs together with the Federal University of Maranhão (UFMA), DARTi Lab and BAITES, the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB), the Sousândrade Foundation, and the UN Development Programme (UNDP). The satellite carried digital messages from approximately 300 local schoolchildren from the Alcântara quilombola communities as part of a space-technology outreach program. It flew alongside seven other nanosatellites (including UFMA’s Jussara K) on the inaugural HANBIT-Nano rocket from the Alcântara Launch Center on December 22, 2025 — intended to be Brazil’s first commercial orbital launch from domestic soil. Shortly after liftoff the vehicle suffered a structural failure and fell back to the ground; the payload did not reach orbit.
Documentation
No public datasheet yet — request the datasheet / ICD from the supplier.
