Small Satellites：Answering the Call for Space Superiority

AFRL University NanoSatellite Program

ITUPublications

Handbook on Small Satellites

2023 edition

更多

International Telecommunication Union

Radiocommunication Sector

收起

Summary

This paper explores United States (U.S.) space policies and how they apply to satellite missions that may not fit the typical satellite mission mold. The paper presents a “roadmap” for policy compliance for satellites from diverse agencies and identifies areas where further work is underway to address the challenges posed by the evolution of the space industry. The paper lays out a coherent way forward for all small satellites navigating the approval quagmire, and for mission managers of multi-payload rideshares who wish to smooth the path to launch approval.

OHB System AG developed the versatile geostationary satellite platform called SmallGEO within ESA’s Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES) program.

The SmallGEO family of satellites is defined by a broad spec-trum of possible configurations to fulfill a variety of mission objectives. These include telecommunications, Earth observa-tion and laser-communication applications from a geostation-ary orbit.

更多

Depending on the propellant, the satellite mass at launch can vary between 2,500 kg and 3,500 kg, whereby the individually permitted payload can be up to 900 kg.

收起

How do you start a CubeSat project? As popular as CubeSats have become, it’s surprising how little information is out there to help someone just enter-ing the field. That’s why this document was created—to lay out everything you need to take a great CubeSat idea and make it into an actual spacecraft that is launched into orbit. If you’ve been involved in the CubeSat world for a while, this guide will be a good reference for anything on which you might need a refresher. However, this guide is written for first-time CubeSat developers, and especially for CubeSats being developed at educational institutions. So, if this is your first foray into CubeSats, you’ll want to read through carefully to get an idea of the scope and the amount of work this project will require.

Ten-Koh is a 23.5 kg, low-cost satellite developed to conduct space environment effects research in low-Earth orbit (LEO). Ten-Koh was developed primarily by students of the Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech) and launched on 29 October 2018 on-board HII-A rocket F40, as a piggyback payload of JAXA’s Greenhouse gas Observing Satellite (GOSAT-2). The satellite carries a double Langmuir probe, CMOS-based particle detectors and a Liulin spectrometer as main payloads. This paper reviews the design of the mission, specifies the exact hardware used, and outlines the implementation and operation phases of the project. This work is intended as a reference that other aspiring satellite developers may use to increase their chances of success. Such a reference is expected to be particularly useful to other university teams, which will likely face the same challenges as the Ten-Koh team at Kyutech. Various on-orbit failures of the satellite are also discussed here in order to help avoid them in future small spacecraft. Applicability of small satellites to conduct space-weather research is also illustrated on the Ten-Koh example, which carried out simultaneous measurements with JAXA’s ARASE satellite.

Smaller satellites are of increasing interest; growing use in recent years

Bryce’s Smallsats by the Numbers presents historical information on smaller satellites launched 2011 – 2020

Definition used here, 600 kg and under, reflects the five smallest mass classes defined by the FAA

更多

‘Smallsat’ or ‘very small satellite’ are often used to refer to smaller satellites

Due to the large quantity of LEO broadband telecommunications smallsats launched in 2020, this report provides data views that both exclude and include LEO broadband telecommunications smallsat systems that have launched operational satellites as of 2020 to provide insight into trends in other types of systems

收起