Attached to Kibo, the Japanese module on the ISS, is a projectile launcher. The designers, Darth Vader and Captain Kirk, believe that this will be the first step of Japan’s unquestioned domination of space.

Okay, that’s not what it is. I’m trying to be funny and digressing. I’ll shut up now. 

What the JEM Small Satellite Orbital Deployer actually does is launch satellites from space. The Japanese space agency states “it is a mechanism for deploying small satellites designed in accordance with CubeSat design specification (10cm×10cm×10cm) that transfers the satellites from the Japanese Experiment Module Kibo’s airlock to space environment and releases them on orbit.” Basically, it’s a cube launcher.

So far, the Japanese have launched three satellites, and we haven’t yet seen the applications of the technology yet, but it’s an interesting concept.

What Sparks Our Fire: STAR WARS.

What do you think are the applications of nano-satellites?