Small Satellites

Small satellites also called  smallsats are going to expand in next decade or so . The interest has grown tremendously for the satellites under 500KG.

The smallsats are defined in terms  of units (1U cubes) of 10x10x10 centimetres and 1kg weight. CubeSats grow in size by  these units – 1.5U, 2U, 3U, 6U and so on.

 

The Smallsats are classified  in the less than 500 Kg category ,they range from Picosatellite to smallsatellite.

 

PicoSatellite .1- 1KG 

NanoSatellite 1-30KG

Microsatellite 30-300KG

SmallSatellite 100-500KG

The big advantage being their cost and can be used for weather and climate on Earth, space weather and cosmic rays. They can also act as pathfinders for bigger and more expensive satellite missions that will address these questions.

 

From super-secret agencies and the U.S. military to academia and private firms, as well as world space agencies and NASA, ultra-small satellites are the big thing.

European analyst Euroconsult projects more than 500 smallsats being launched in the years 2015–2019 with a market value estimated at US$7.4 billion.