Prospector-X (Deep Space Industries experimental nano-spacecraft, Luxembourg MoU 2016)
Experimental nano-spacecraft that Deep Space Industries (DSI) agreed to build and test in the United States and Luxembourg under a memorandum of understanding announced on 5 May 2016 with the Luxembourg Government and the public bank SNCI within the spaceresources.lu initiative. The Luxembourg Ministry of the Economy described it as a risk-reduction technology demonstration mission for small-spacecraft asteroid exploration that would test key enabling technologies for DSI's first asteroid prospecting mission, Prospector-1, with Luxembourg Government co-financing of relevant R&D to be sourced from the Luxembourg space programme LuxIMPULSE, the national R&D support programme and SNCI financing instruments; the University of Luxembourg's SnT centre was named a partner. DSI's August 2016 announcement, as reprinted by the National Space Society, called it an experimental mission to low-Earth orbit scheduled to launch in 2017. No launch record and no later operator statement about Prospector-X were found; DSI became part of Bradford Space in January 2019 (see Deep Space Industries).
Objective. Test, on a nano-spacecraft, several key enabling technologies for DSI's planned asteroid prospecting mission Prospector-1, as a risk-reduction demonstration for small-spacecraft asteroid exploration under Luxembourg's framework for the exploration and commercial use of asteroid resources (government release). The Nanosats Database lists optical navigation, a water-based propulsion system and one of Prospector-1's science payloads among the subsystems to be demonstrated. No resource measurement was part of the announced flight.
Facts
- Kind
- Spacecraft
- Mission type
- Technology demonstration
- Target
- OtherLow Earth orbit (planned, per DSI's 2016 announcement); no asteroid target
- Launch
- Not recorded
- Phase
- StalledLast evidenced plan: the government release of 5 May 2016 (build and test in the US and Luxembourg) and DSI's August 2016 announcement as reprinted by the National Space Society (launch scheduled for 2017). No source reviewed reports a launch or a launch booking, and no operator statement about Prospector-X after 2016 was found; DSI's acquisition by Bradford Space in January 2019 is recorded in Deep Space Industries. Not flown, not manifested and no dated operator activity for more than 24 months, so stalled. The Nanosats Database labels it 'cancelled' without citing a basis, which does not meet the cancellation rule.
- Outcome
- Not applicable
- Why it is included
- Stated resource objective
What comes next
This mission is stalled.
Participants
Operators, payload owners, carriers and customers are recorded separately.
| Organization | Role |
|---|---|
| Deep Space Industries | Operator |
| SpaceResources.lu initiative | Funder |
Open evidence gaps
- No primary copy of DSI's own Prospector-X material was read: deepspaceindustries.com now hosts unrelated content and the web tool cannot fetch web.archive.org captures, so DSI's description and its 2017 launch plan rest on the National Space Society reprint; launch_date is therefore left null.
- No source with a stated basis says Prospector-X was cancelled or terminated; the Nanosats Database's 'cancelled' label cites nothing. No source states that it was never launched; non-launch is inferred from the absence of any launch record in the sources reviewed.
- Spacecraft size (3U CubeSat) appears only in the Nanosats Database; no primary source gives mass, form factor, launch vehicle or launch provider.
- Amount of Luxembourg co-financing actually committed to or spent on Prospector-X not found; the government release states the funding sources but no amount.
- Specific resource the demonstration related to is not stated in the primary release; the water-based propulsion item comes from a directory entry only, so resources[] is left empty.
Sources
11 excerpts from 4 publicationsOne web address counts as one publication.
Dans ce projet, un nano-vaisseau sera utilisé afin de tester plusieurs technologies génériques clés
sera construit et testé à la fois aux États-Unis et au Luxembourg.
Le gouvernement luxembourgeois coopérera pour sa part avec DSI aux fins de cofinancer les projets R&D pertinents
The MoU paves the way to building and operating a risk-reduction technology demonstration mission for small spacecraft asteroid exploration.
for DSI's first asteroid prospecting mission, Prospector-1.
The funding will be sourced from the Luxembourg space programme (LuxIMPULSE)
The initiative defines a framework for the exploration and commercial utilization of resources
an experimental mission to low-Earth orbit that will test key technologies needed for low-cost exploration spacecraft.
This precursor mission is scheduled to launch in 2017.
Building on our Prospector-X mission, Prospector-1 will be the next step on our way to harvesting asteroid resources.
optical navigation, water-based propulsion system and one of its key science payloads.
Cite this record
SpaceMiningData, “Prospector-X (Deep Space Industries experimental nano-spacecraft, Luxembourg MoU 2016)”, dataset version a00fa2c68a45, built 2026-11-11, https://spaceminingdata.com/missions/deep-space-industries-prospector-x.html. Record checked 2026-10-30.