SHAMS (satellite)
Saudi deep-space cubesat
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
SHAMS (Arabic: شمس, meaning: Sun) (or SHMS[3], also referred to as Space Weather CubeSat-1 (SWC-1)[4]) is a 12U CubeSat developed by Saudi Arabia's Space Agency as a rideshare payload on the Artemis II mission.[5] The probe's primary mission is to study the effects of space weather in the cislunar environment outside of Earth's magnetic field.
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Technician inspects the Saudi Space Agency’s Shams. | |
| Operator | Saudi Space Agency |
|---|---|
| COSPAR ID | 2026-069C |
| SATCAT no. | 68540 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | 12U CubeSat |
| Manufacturer | Saudi Space Agency |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | April 1, 2026, 22:35:00 UTC (6:35 pm EDT)[1][2] |
| Rocket | Space Launch System |
| Launch site | LC-39B |
| Contractor | NASA |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | High Earth orbit |
| Perigee altitude | 493 km (306 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 70,235 km (43,642 mi) |
 SHAMS's mission patch | |
Background
In July 2024, Saudi Arabia and the United States signed a framework agreement to promote space cooperation between the two countries.[6] In part due to this agreement, a Saudi rideshare mission was selected for Artemis II during Donald Trump's state visit to Saudi Arabia on May 14, 2025.[6] SHAMS is also meant to demonstrate Saudi abilities to manufacturer and operate satellites, as part of Vision 2030.[6][7] The Satellite was manufactured by the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program, a Saudi program specifically designed to increase its aerospace industry capacity.[7]
Mission
SWC-1 · Earth
SHAMS will collect data on the impact of solar activity on the Earth's magnetosphere to help enhance techniques to keep humans safe in space and improve communication abilities.[6][7][8] The CubeSat is designed to measure radiation, solar X-rays, charged particles, and magnetic fields in high Earth orbit.[9][10][11]
On Saturday, April 3, the SSA would announce that the probes name was Shams despite all NASA documentation naming it the SWC-1.[8][5] In the same press release the SSA gave more information on the probe's mission, outlining it's elliptical high-earth-orbit as being between 500 km to 70,000 km and that the space weather studies will help develop the reliability of communications, aviation, and navigation technologies.[5]
