CubeSats deployed from the International Space Station

CubeSats fly free after leaving the NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer on the International Space Station on May 17, 2016. Seen here are two Dove satellites, part of a constellation designed, built and operated by Planet Labs Inc. to take images of Earth from space. The images have several humanitarian and environmental applications, from monitoring deforestation and urbanization to improving natural disaster relief and agricultural yields in developing nations. CubeSats are a new, low-cost tool designed to take narrowly targeted scientific observations, with only a few instruments, often built from off-the-shelf components. NASA/UPI