www.baylor.edu/casper

René Laufer1, Scott Madry2

1Associate Research Professor, CASPER, Baylor University / Co-Chair, IAA Permanent Committee on Small Satellite Missions

2Executive Director, Global Space Institute (GSI) / Research Associate Professor, University of North Caroline, Chapel Hill

Small Satellite Challenges Around The World

www.baylor.edu/casper

Laufer, Madry: Small Satellite Challenges Around The World

Small Satellites: A Success Story

• 1st small satellite: UoSat-1, University of Surrey, UK, 1981(or: Sputnik 1, USSR, 1957 – with 84 kg a micro satellite )

• Enabled wider access to space and its applications• Small satellite categories (e.g. proposed by IAA in the

1990s):mini satellites: up to 500 kg, micro satellites: up to 100 kg, nano satellites: up to 10 kg, pico satellites: up to 1 kg, femto satellites: up to 0.1 kg

• A proven tool in education and workforce development, engineering (e.g. technology demonstration), science (e.g. Earth observation) and business – at affordable cost and risk.

2

UoSat-1, 52 kg (1981)

CanX-1, 1 kg (2003)

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Small Satellites: Some Key Features

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Small spacecraft mass, low space segment cost and short development time create low barriers to market entry – ground segment (investment) cost might be significant higher.More complex missions in any class increase cost and time.Nevertheless: the cost/time ratio creates a small satellite paradigm enabling new types of missions.

Image Source: R. Sandau, K. Briess, and M. D'Errico, “Small satellites for global coverage: Potential and limits,” ISPRS J PHOTOGRAMM, vol. 65, no. 6, pp. 492–504, Oct. 2010, doi:10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2010.09.003

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• Distributed Small Satellite Systems (Swarms, Constellations, Formations) are reality.

• Federated and Fractionated Small Satellite Systems are the next logical step.

• Some challenges:Global ground resource sharing, shared on-board resource utilization, global frequency allocation, middleware distribution

Example: Massive Small Satellite Missions

Laufer, Madry: Small Satellite Challenges Around The World

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Image Source: W

ired.com

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Laufer, Madry: Small Satellite Challenges Around The World

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• Low cost, short duration development enables the willingness to perform very short duration or high risk missions

• Short duration and/or high risk small satellite missions: atmospheric entry/sample return, space debris removal, very low altitude orbits

• Some challenges:Global ground resource sharing, global frequency allocation, space debris risk, atmospheric entry areas and landing sites

Example: Short Duration/High Risk Mission

Image Source: CAPE - U

niv. Stuttgart/Ksat Stutt

gart

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• Missions beyond low Earth orbit (LEO) – high Earth orbit or interplanetary missions to cis-/trans-lunar space, small bodies, planets, moons or deep space

• Low cost/low mass design offer “do-one-thing-well” (one payload per spacecraft) type of piggy-back add-on missions carried by larger probes

• Some challenges:Global ground resource sharing, space debris, global frequency allocation

Example: Missions beyond Low Earth Orbit

Image Source: IN

SPIRE – NASA/JPL

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Thank you for your attention!

• E-mail contact:– Rene Laufer: rene_laufer@baylor.edu– Scott Madry: madry@gsi-space.org

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