We introduce to astrophysical instrumentation and space optics the use of virtually imaged phased array (VIPA) to shrink échelle spectrometers and/or increase their resolution. Here, we report on both a concept of an echelle spectrometer with resolution R=50{,}000 (@653nm), which fits a 6U nanosatellite platform ({{1U= 10 cm × 10 cm × 10 cm}}), and on our laboratory tests on a R=200{,}000 demonstrator. The outline of our paper is as follows: Sect. 1 introduces our concept of a 6U payload comprising an échelle spectrometer based on the VIPA. We present also the science cases of monitoring young stars, and the wider science landscape amenable with larger telescopes. Section 2 gives a more detailed description of the VIPA and of its implementation in a cross-dispersed spectrometer. Section 3 shows the first results at R=200{,}000 we already achieved at the Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG). Finally, Sect. 4 is a discussion on the remaining technical points to study.