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Deployment

CIMON at International Space Station

Crew Interactive Mobile Companion: a free-flying spherical ISS crew-assistant built by Airbus (funded by DLR) using IBM Watson for natural-language interaction. Activated and controlled by astronaut voice command ('wake up'); it is a voice assistant with autonomous free-flight station-keeping, NOT an autonomous agent. CIMON-1 demonstrated on the ISS from 2018-06-29 and returned to Earth 2019-08-27; CIMON-2 launched 2019-12-05 (later operational status not publicly confirmed).

CIMON by Airbus · Catalog entry · 3 sources · not yet field-verified · Space

Track CIMON at International Space Station

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CIMON-1 delivered 2018-07-02; returned Earth 2019-08-27 (ended). CIMON-2 launched 2019-12-05, debuted 2020-02, planned 3-year stay. This deployment record covers the 2018-2019 CIMON-1 technology demonstrator. Outcome: successful first tasks including autonomous navigation, face recognition, voice interaction via IBM Watson, and media display with ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst.

Key facts

Mission
CIMON-1 ISS crew-assistant demonstration
Outcome
Operated on ISS 2018-2019, returned to Earth 2019-08-27; CIMON-2 launched 2019-12-05 (later status unconfirmed)
Start
CIMON-1 delivered to ISS 2018-07-02
Technology
Autonomous navigation, face recognition, voice interaction via IBM Watson, and media display
Partner
ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst performed first tasks with CIMON-1
Status
CIMON-2 debuted 2020-02 with planned 3-year stay on ISS

Exposure

Customer segment
research
Scale tier
pilot lt10

Each exposure value carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.

Safety record

No incidents on record for CIMON at International Space Station.

Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.

Trust tier
Catalog entry · 3 sources · not yet field-verifiedhow tiers work →
Last updated
2026-08-21
Model
CIMON
Company
Airbus
Location
International Space Station
Operator
Airbus
Status
ended
Operator type
maker operated
Scale at site
2 to 10 units
Site environment
mixed
Location precision
verified coordinates
First seen
2018-06-29
ID
2d0c54ef-f0c9-468a-916a-db1542b71ccb

Timeline

  1. Jun 2018
    First recorded
    CIMON first documented operating at International Space Station.
  2. Jun 2018
    created
  3. Jun 2026
    field updated
    sources: source added → DLR: CIMON-2 makes its debut on the ISS
  4. Jun 2026
    field updated
    sources: source added → Airbus: Crew assistant CIMON successfully completes first tasks in space
  5. Aug 2026
    Current status: ended, reviewed
    Latest recorded state. New status transitions append here as the deployment-status recorder produces them.

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CIMON operates in International Space Station. Explore the full verified map:

Sources (3)

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIMON
  2. https://www.dlr.de/en/latest/news/2020/02/20200415_cimon-2-makes-its-debut-on-the-iss
  3. https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2018-11-crew-assistant-cimon-successfully-completes-first-tasks-in-space
Methodology: Verified · 3 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-08-21

Verification posture

Verified

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-08-21

Maturity + lifecycle

Maturity stage: research

Lifecycle: discontinued

Architectural position

Cohort: space

Sources by quality tier

2
unclassified
Unclassified source
1
knowledge-base
Knowledge base

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for CIMON at International Space Station.

Common questions

What is the CIMON deployment at International Space Station?
CIMON, built by Airbus, is recorded as a deployment at International Space Station on the DEPLOY registry. Airbus operates the deployment directly.
Who operates CIMON at International Space Station?
Airbus, the manufacturer of CIMON, operates this deployment directly. This is a maker-deploys-its-own-product arrangement rather than a customer pilot.
When did the CIMON deployment at International Space Station go live?
The deployment is recorded as starting June 29, 2018 on the DEPLOY registry. Earlier activity may exist but is not yet sourced.
Is the CIMON deployment at International Space Station still active?
As of the most recent verification on the DEPLOY registry, this deployment is no longer operating at this location.
Have there been incidents at the CIMON deployment at International Space Station?
No active incidents affecting this deployment are recorded on the DEPLOY registry. Absence of recorded incidents is not a guarantee no incident occurred; DEPLOY records only sourced incidents and suppresses retracted ones.

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