What are Small Sats?

Small satellites, also known as smallsats, are miniaturized satellites used for various purposes like earth observation, technology demonstration and scientific research. They are much smaller and lighter than traditional satellites, weighing less than 500 kg. Advances in microelectronics, sensors and other technologies have enabled the development of smaller, affordable satellites that can carry out key functions comparable to conventional satellites.

Key Benefits of Small Sats

 smallsatelites offer significant benefits over traditional large satellites in terms of cost, schedule and risk. Their small size and modularity allows them to be developed rapidly with limited budgets. The key benefits are:

Lower Cost: Smallsats are much cheaper to build and launch compared to usual satellites weighing over 1000 kg. This is because they require less investment in design, manufacturing and testing. Costs are estimated to be around $15 million for a smallsat compared to $400-500 million for a large one.

Shorter development Time: The simplified design and pre-packaged components enable smallsats to be assembled more rapidly. Development times can be as short as 6-18 months compared to 5-10 years for bigger satellites. This allows for more frequent launches and technology upgrades.

Lower Risk: Small payloads mean lower risks and higher mission assurance even if a satellite fails. The modular design also allows easy replacement of malfunctioning components. Risks are distributed among multiple smallsats instead of a single large satellite.

Increased Accessibility: Small satellite launches have become more accessible due to new low-cost launch vehicles and rideshare options on commercial rockets. They can fly as auxiliary payloads or share launches with larger satellites to usable orbits.

Innovation: Low costs permit high-risk experimental designs and new technologies to be tested in space. Smallsats are also being used for R&D, technology demonstrations and pathfinder missions before operationalizing bigger systems.

Applications

Advances in smallsat technologies have enabled their use across diverse applications that were previously only possible with conventional large satellites. Some key applications include:

Earth Observation: Smallsats equipped with cameras and sensors are widely used for monitoring agricultural land, disasters, natural resources and climate change. Constellations allow frequent revisit times for time-sensitive monitoring and applications like traffic monitoring.

Space Science: formations are being launched for space weather research, astrophysics studies and heliophysics. Examples include the Ionospheric Connection Explorer and the Heliophysics Space Weather SmallSat Constellation.

Technology Demonstration: Smallsats provide an affordable platform to test new components and instruments in space before operational deployment. Example missions include NASA's Edison Demonstration of Smallsat Networks and the Spacecraft Fire Experiment-II.

Communications: Non-geostationary satellite constellations for broadband internet access are being realized through smallsats. Examples include SpaceX's Starlink and OneWeb internet provision projects.

Education: Several universities and space agencies use smallsats to teach spacecraft design principles and space domain awareness. They foster hands-on training through access to space missions.

Defense: Militaries worldwide utilize smallsats for surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence gathering purposes. They provide persistent monitoring capabilities at reduced costs.

Emerging Trends

Several emerging trends are expected to further accelerate the smallsat sector in the coming years:

Ridesharing: Dedicated rideshare missions will make hitchhiking to useful orbits easier and affordable, opening up new opportunities. For example, Rocket Lab's Photon platform.

Constellations: Vast mega-constellations of 50-1000 smallsats will enable global high-speed internet access and on-demand imaging/monitoring services.

New Launch Vehicles Virgin Orbit, Astra and others will provide dedicated smallsat launching capabilities from planes/rockets, increasing accessibility.

In-Orbit Manufacturing: 3D printing technology demonstrations may enable assembling structures and repairing assets directly in space, reducing payload sizes.

New Applications: Advances in miniaturized tech and bigger constellations will lead to novel applications like in-orbit servicing, space-based remote sensing, asteroid mining etc.

Public-Private Partnerships: Increased commercialization and collaboration between companies, academia and space agencies will foster technology incubation.

In conclusion, small satellites have unlocked new frontiers of utilization for various science, technology and commercial applications that were previously limited to large, expensive satellites. Advancements will further consolidate their potential to transform the space sector in the coming decade through distributed, high-revisit and responsive space infrastructures.