Small satellite
Miniature satellites, especially in large numbers, may be more useful than fewer, larger ones for some purposes – for example, gathering of scientific data and radio relay.Technical challenges in the construction of small satellites may include the lack of sufficient power storage or of room for a propulsion system.[3] By mid-2015, many more launch options had become available for smallsats, and rides as secondary payloads had become both greater in quantity and easier to schedule on shorter notice.The office of space acquisition and integration said in January 2023 that "the era of massive satellites needs to be in the rear view mirror for the Department of Defense"[5] with small satellites being procured for DoD needs in all orbital regimes, regardless of "whether it's LEO MEO or GEO" while aiming for procurements in under three years.[5] In 2021, the first autonomous nanosatellites, part of the Adelis-SAMSON mission, designed and developed by the Technion and Rafael in Israel were launched into space.include Demeter, Essaim, Parasol, Picard, MICROSCOPE, TARANIS, ELISA, SSOT, SMART-1, Spirale-A and -B, and Starlink satellites.[19] Examples: Astrid-1 and Astrid-2,[20] as well as the set of satellites currently announced for LauncherOne (below)[18] In 2018, the two Mars Cube One microsats—massing just 13.5 kg (30 lb) each—became the first CubeSats to leave Earth orbit for use in interplanetary space.[21] The two microsats accomplished a flyby of Mars in November 2018, and both continued communicating with ground stations on Earth through late December.Several commercial customers have already contracted for launches, including GeoOptics, Skybox Imaging, Spaceflight Industries, and Planetary Resources.More rapid revisit times are a significant improvement for nations performing disaster response, which was the purpose of the RapidEye constellation.[38] Nanosatellite developers and manufacturers include EnduroSat, GomSpace, NanoAvionics, NanoSpace, Spire,[39] Surrey Satellite Technology,[40] NovaWurks,[41] Dauria Aerospace,[42] Planet Labs[40] and Reaktor.By late 2014, proposals were being developed for larger spacecraft specifically designed to deliver swarms of nanosats to trajectories that are beyond Earth orbit for applications such as exploring distant asteroids.NLVs proposed or under development include: Actual NS launches: The term "picosatellite" or "picosat" (not to be confused with the PicoSAT series of microsatellites) is usually applied to artificial satellites with a wet mass between 0.1 and 1 kg (0.22 and 2.2 lb),[9][10] although it is sometimes used to refer to any satellite that is under 1 kg in launch mass.[51] In April 2014, the nanosatellite KickSat was launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket with the intention of releasing 104 femtosatellite-sized chipsats, or "Sprites".
MicrosatelliteESTCube-1CubeSatsatellitelaunch vehiclesradio relaypower storagepropulsion systemnanosatellitesecondary payloadsU.S. Department of Defensedistributed networksatellite assetsTechnionIsraelTel Aviv UniversitySpace Technology 5wet massDemeterEssaimParasolPicardMICROSCOPETARANISSMART-1Spirale-A and -BStarlinkOrbital Sciences CorporationPegasus (rocket)Rocket LabElectronVirgin OrbitLauncherOneRocket 3.3Firefly AerospaceFirefly Alphaworking togetherformationAstrid-1Mars Cube OneInSightlandercommercialtargetedlaunchersorbital launch vehiclepayloadslow Earth orbitSkybox ImagingSpaceflight IndustriesPlanetary ResourcesSurrey Satellite TechnologySierra Nevada Space Systemssatellite busesAirborne Launch Assist Space AccessconstellationresolutionGarvey Spacecraftsuborbitalclusteredcircular orbitsBoeing Small Launch Vehicleair-launchedlaunch vehicleSwiss Space SystemsspaceplanePLD Spacefractionated spacecraftCalifornia Polytechnic State UniversityStanford Universityminiaturization and capability increase of electronic technologysatellite constellations6U CubeSatsatellite constellationEarth-imaging satellitesExoCube (CP-10)ArduSatEnduroSatGomSpaceNanoAvionicsNovaWurksPlanet LabsReaktorminiaturizationcapitalupper stageWhiteKnightTwoSpaceShipTwoAndøyaNorth Starpolar orbitVector LaunchGeneration OrbitPhoneSatFlock-2PPSLV-C34PSLV-C37PicoSATdo-it-yourselfSpace ShuttleEndeavourfinal missionMaterials International Space Station ExperimentKickSatFalcon 9attitude controlmonopropellantsbipropellantbutanecarbon dioxidetranspondersFederal Communications CommissionCanadian Advanced Nanospace eXperiment ProgramCanSatDRAGONSatMicro air vehicleN-PrizeNanosatellite Launch SystemSatellite formation flyingSPHERESStudent Space Exploration & Technology InitiativeUniversity Nanosatellite ProgramPocketQubeBibcodeThe New York TimesJet Propulsion Laboratory