Mexico to Launch Advanced Satellite Command System in 2025

Mexico is set to launch a new Command and Information Management System (SCMI) for nanosatellites in 2025. Developed by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and the Mexican Space Agency (AEM), the system will be deployed aboard Paraguay’s GuaraníSat-2 in October 2025.

The SCMI was designed and developed by the Laboratory of Electronic Instrumentation of Space Systems (LIESE) within UNAM's Faculty of Engineering, in collaboration with AEM. The team, led by system designer Aldair Lara Tenorio and coordinated by Dr. Saúl de la Rosa Nieves, includes 12 students. The system successfully passed initial testing at the University of the Republic in Uruguay in March 2024.

In January 2025, the development team will travel to South America for integration tests with the satellite, followed by additional procedures in Japan to prepare the system for its mission.

The mission will evaluate the SCMI’s fault-tolerant architecture and its ability to withstand radiation-induced effects. Additionally, an AEM-developed algorithm for determining satellite orientation will be tested.

AEM highlighted the SCMI’s innovative approach to achieving space-grade reliability without the high-cost components typically used in such systems. The exact launch date for the SCMI aboard GuaraníSat-2 will be announced at a later time.