Deploying CubeSats from ISS has a number of benefits. Launching the vehicles aboard the logistics carrier of ISS visiting vehicle reduces the vibration and loads they have to encounter during launch. In addition, they can be packed in protective materials so that the probability of CubeSat damage during launch is reduced significantly. In addition, for earth observation satellites, such as those of Planet Labs, the lower orbit of the ISS orbit, at roughly 400 km, is an advantage. In addition, the lower orbit allows a natural decay of the satellites, thus reducing the build-up of orbital debris. The Japanese Experiment Module Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (J-SSOD) is the first of its kind to deploy small satellites from the International Space Station. The facility provides a unique satellite install case to the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Remote Manipulator System (RMS) for deploying small, CubeSat, satellites from the ISS. The J-SSOD holds up to 3 small one-unit (1U, 10 x 10 x 10 centimeters) small CubeSats per satellite install case, 6 in total, though other sizes up to 55 x 55 x 35 cm may also be used. Each pre-packed satellite install case is loaded by crewmembers onto the Multi-Purpose Experiment Platform (MPEP) within the JEM habitable volume. The MPEP platform is then attached to the JEM Slide Table inside the JEM airlock for transfer to the JEMRMS and space environment. The JEMRMS grapples and maneuvers the MPEP and J-SSOD to a predefined deployment orientation and then jettisons the small CubeSat satellites. The MPEP is a platform that acts as an interface between operations inside and outside the ISS, and the J-SSOD mechanism is installed on this platform. On July 21, 2012, JAXA launched the Kounotori 3 (HTV-3) cargo spacecraft to the ISS on Expedition 33. The J-SSOD was a payload on this flight along with five CubeSats that were planned to be deployed by the J-SSOD mounted on the JEMRMS (JEM- Remote Manipulator System), a robotic arm, later in 2012. The five CubeSats were deployed successfully on Oct. 4, 2012 by the JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide using the newly installed J-SSOD. This represented the first deployment service of J-SSOD. In October 2013, NanoRacks became the first company to coordinate the deployment of small satellites (CubeSats/nanosatellites) from the ISS via the airlock in the Japanese KIBO module.