Aerospace engineering

Key (lock)

Bandwidth (computing)

Earth observation

Communications satellite

Variety (cybernetics)

Engineering

Artificial intelligence

Satellite

Systems engineering

Geography

Computer science

Computer security

Remote sensing

Telecommunications

Space technology

Proceedings of the IEEE

Earth orbiting satellites come in a wide range of shapes and sizes to meet a diverse variety of uses and applications. Large satellites with masses over 1000 kg support high-resolution remote sensing of the Earth, high bandwidth communications services, and world-class scientific studies but take lengthy developments and are costly to build and launch. The advent of commercially available, high-volume, and hence low-cost microelectronics has enabled a different approach through miniaturization. This results in physically far smaller satellites that dramatically reduce timescales and costs and that are able to provide operational and commercially viable services. This paper charts the evolution and rise of small satellites from being an early curiosity with limited utility through to the present where small satellites are a key element of modern space capabilities.

Modern Small Satellites-Changing the Economics of Space