CatSat is a 6U CubeSat built, tested, and flown by University of Arizona students, faculty, and staff in partnership with FreeFall Aerospace and Rincon Research Corporation. The spacecraft measures 30 by 20 by 10 centimeters (12 by 8 by 4 inches), or about the size of a family size cereal box.

Flying on Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket, the satellite launched out of Vandenberg Space Force Base in California into a nearly sun-synchronous polar orbit around the Earth on July 3, 2024. Traveling at around 7.5 kilometers per second (4.7 miles per second), the spacecraft orbits the Earth about once every 90 minutes, or about 16 times per day.

During the mission's expected lifetime, CatSat is slated to demonstrate and characterize the performance of a new inflatable antenna technology, record high frequency (HF) radio signals to probe the charges in the ionosphere, and take images of the Earth. The spacecraft is also capable of operating as a linear transponder satellite for amateur radio operators. The data produced by this mission will provide valuable insights into the distribution of charges in the ionosphere and enable more capable radio antennas for future spacecraft.
 

CatSat is supported by FreeFall Aerospace and Rincon Research Corporation, with both companies also assisting in development and spacecraft testing. CatSat is funded by the University of Arizona Office of the Vice President for Research and the Arizona Space Institute. CatSat was launched on Firefly Aerospace's Noise of Summer mission, provided by NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative.