Reflector (microsatellite)

Reflector (USA-163) is a space debris research microsatellite built in Russia^[when?] by NII KP for the United States Air Force Research Lab at Kirtland AFB.^[1]

There was some confusion about whether or not the USA-163 designation had actually ever been assigned,^[2] which stemmed from the fact that more than one microsatellite may fly on a given launch vehicle. A single modern launch may result in multiple maneuvering spacecraft reaching different final orbits (for example, some CubeSats, and the satellites of SpaceX's StarLink system).