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Deployment

Phi-Sat-1 at Low Earth Orbit

Phi-Sat-1 (ɸ-Sat-1), launched September 2020 on the Vega rocket, is ESA's first satellite to demonstrate artificial intelligence for Earth observation. A 6U CubeSat in the FSSCat mission, it uses on-board AI to filter cloud-covered images before transmission to ground stations, reducing bandwidth requirements. The AI processing was developed in collaboration with Ubotica and demonstrates ESA's technology roadmap for edge AI in space.

Phi-Sat-1 by European Space Agency · Catalog entry · 4 sources · not yet field-verified · Drones

Track Phi-Sat-1 at Low Earth Orbit

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ESA Phi-Sat-1 (FSSCat) 6U CubeSat launched 2020-09-03 aboard Vega from Kourou. First European satellite with onboard AI for Earth observation (Intel Movidius Myriad 2 cloud-detection). Mission complete 2021-12-31 after ~15-month planned lifetime. End of life intentional within design life. Follow-on Phi-Sat-2 in development.

Key facts

Mission
Phi-Sat-1 onboard-AI demonstration
Outcome
First satellite to run an onboard AI inference chip; autonomously filters cloudy imagery in orbit before downlink
Fleet
FSSCat
Scale
6U CubeSat
Start
2020-09-03
Status
Mission complete 2021-12-31
Technology
Intel Movidius Myriad 2 cloud-detection chip
Hours
~15-month planned lifetime
Partner
Launched aboard Vega from Kourou
Use Case
Earth observation
Status
End of life intentional within design life
Fleet
Follow-on Phi-Sat-2 in development

Exposure

Customer segment
logistics
Scale tier
undisclosed

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 Phi-Sat-1 at Low Earth Orbit.

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

Trust tier
Catalog entry · 4 sources · not yet field-verifiedhow tiers work →
Last updated
2026-08-21
Model
Phi-Sat-1
Company
European Space Agency
Location
Low Earth Orbit
Operator
European Space Agency
Status
ended
Operator type
maker operated
Scale at site
undisclosed
Site environment
outdoor
Location precision
verified coordinates
First seen
2020-09-03
ID
26371198-7f63-43c5-bfff-57d03a2ce08e

Timeline

  1. Sep 2020
    First recorded
    Phi-Sat-1 first documented operating at Low Earth Orbit.
  2. Sep 2020
    created
  3. Jun 2026
    field updated
    sources: source added → eoPortal: PhiSat-1 & -2 Nanosatellite Mission
  4. Jun 2026
    field updated
    sources: source added → ESA Phi-lab: ESA team achievement prize awarded to Phi-sat-1 team
  5. Jun 2026
    verification state change
    status: active → ended
  6. 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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Phi-Sat-1 operates in Low Earth Orbit. Explore the full verified map:

Sources (4)

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phi-Sat-1
  2. https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Engineering_Technology/Phi-sat
  3. https://www.eoportal.org/satellite-missions/phisat-1
  4. https://philab.esa.int/esa-team-achievement-prize-awarded-to-%cf%86-sat-1-team/
Methodology: Verified · 4 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: active

Architectural position

Cohort: aerial

Sources by quality tier

3
unclassified
Unclassified source
1
knowledge-base
Knowledge base

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

Methodology surface for Phi-Sat-1 at Low Earth Orbit.

Common questions

What is the Phi-Sat-1 deployment at Low Earth Orbit?
Phi-Sat-1, built by European Space Agency, is recorded as a deployment at Low Earth Orbit on the DEPLOY registry. European Space Agency operates the deployment directly.
Who operates Phi-Sat-1 at Low Earth Orbit?
European Space Agency, the manufacturer of Phi-Sat-1, operates this deployment directly. This is a maker-deploys-its-own-product arrangement rather than a customer pilot.
When did the Phi-Sat-1 deployment at Low Earth Orbit go live?
The deployment is recorded as starting September 3, 2020 on the DEPLOY registry. Earlier activity may exist but is not yet sourced.
Is the Phi-Sat-1 deployment at Low Earth Orbit 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 Phi-Sat-1 deployment at Low Earth Orbit?
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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