The STars and ExoPlanets space telescope (STEP) is a 50 kg satellite designed and built by Space Inventor, with a main telescope and detector provided by ScanWay and Terma, respectively. Equipped with a 25 cm telescope and a highly sensitive camera covering the near-ultraviolet spectrum, STEP will act as a follow-up to large space missions from ESA and NASA, including Kepler, TESS, Plato, and ARIEL.

STEP will be launched on a Falcon 9 into a 600 km Sun-synchronous orbit, with continuous viewing zones near the celestial equator. The scientific results aim to answer central questions related to exoplanets and stars, furthering our understanding of the universe.

STEP is a scientific collaboration between the Danish universities – Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Copenhagen University (KU), University of Southern Denmark (SDU), Aalborg University (AAU), and Aarhus University (AU) – the Danish National Metrology Institute (DFM), and Danish industry partners Space Inventor and Terma.

The mission was included in the Danish Roadmap for Research Infrastructure in February 2020, issued by the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science. In January 2022, the ministry announced support of DKK 31.2 million for STEP, with an estimated total project cost of DKK 85 million.

Beyond science, the mission is expected to drive new developments by Danish universities and companies in areas such as space-to-Earth communications and data handling.