Lessons learned for deploying a microsatellite from the International Space Station

The growth of the small satellite industry necessitates increased access to space through rideshare and secondary launch opportunities. The International Space Station (ISS), or Station, has been recently used to deploy several CubeSats, and it is gaining interest in the small satellite community as a burgeoning launch platform for an expanding suite of payload classes. We are working in conjunction with other space entrepreneurs and enthusiasts to utilize Station as the first true Space Port. We have manifested the first-of-its-kind deployment of a 50 kg microsatellite from the ISS in 2015 and are sharing our journey to encourage others to follow and blaze new trails to space access. Our lessons learned are applicable to any future payload developers that would potentially use the ISS as a platform for space access, and we describe pitfalls and opportunities to consider when manifesting a launch. We describe our experiences in both defining and complying with requirements imposed by NASA, the Launch Vehicle Service Provider, and the Secondary Launch Integrator. Early understanding of the requirements is critical as they directly impact the satellite design, capability, concept of operations, and expected lifetime. We discuss the most challenging requirements we encountered and our approaches for addressing them. We explain the timelines for gaining the necessary approvals and our personal experience in navigating the various approval bodies.