EXOpod Nova

EXOpod Nova is an Exolaunch CubeSat deployer family for orbital deployment of standard and high-volume CubeSat payloads.^[1][2] The family includes 8U, 12U, and 16U deployer sizes, with 8U configured as one 8U slot or two 4U slots and 12U or 16U units configured through S1 to S4 slot layouts.^[1] Supported CubeSat sizes span 0.25U to 16U, with dimension and mass tables covering 1U through 16U CubeSats.^[2][1] Allowed CubeSat masses range from 2.5 kg for 1U to 36 kg for 16U.^[1] Deployer mass varies by size and slot layout, from 7.7 kg for 8U S1 to 15.27 kg for 16U S4.^[1] Deployment uses a spring-driven wagon, redundant magnetic locks, a clamping mechanism, access windows, and remove-before-flight pins.^[1] The 8U deployer uses two springs, the 12U and 16U deployers use four springs, and slot spring use scales by CubeSat length.^[1] Deployment dynamics include a typical velocity chart range of 1.2 m/s to 2.4 m/s, expected tip-off below 10 deg/s in all axes, and a separation half-cone angle of plus or minus 7.5 deg.^[1] EXOpod family flight heritage dates to 2017, and EXOpod Nova mission examples include Four of a Kind in January 2024 and IM-2 in February 2025.^[2][3][4]