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The trend of small satellites has been discussed for manyyears now, but I think that we can finally say, small satelliteshave hit the big time. Their advantages are obvious; lowerproduction and launch costs, faster manufacturing times and,usually, faster launch times. Indeed, small satellites can belaunched either by piggy-backing on larger operations likethe International Space Station or through dedicated, low-cost launch solutions. Interorbital Services, for example, offerslaunch facilities for CubeSats for US$12,500/kg.

Mini- (100-500kg), micro- (10-100kg), nano- (1-10kg) andpico- (0.1-1kg) satellites are all available commercially today,while femto-satellites (0.01-0.1kg) have received much lessresearch. Most of the recent advancements in small satelliteshave been micro or nano-satellites. “Originally a platform foruniversity and technology development projects, we are nowseeing interest from the commercial, government and militarysectors in using 1-50kg satellites operationally,” said NorthernSky Research’s (NSR) Analyst, Carolyn Belle.

Although there has been a strong uptake of smallsatellites, they do not come without their disadvantages. When

it comes to manufacturing, there are many challenges toconsider. By their nature, small satellites require smaller parts.This means that smaller version of all of the traditional satelliteequipment like modems, amplifiers, transponders, computersetc., must be sourced, potentially with less choice. There’salso the question of propulsion and attitude control, whichare inherently riskier when the payload is so small. Cold gasthrusters, chemical propulsion, electric propulsion and solarsails are all used to manoeuvre small satellites to theirintended position thanks to recent advances. There are alsolimitations during piggy-back launches, not the least of whichmeans that the main payload will always take priority.

Despite the potential drawbacks, countries with youngspace industries are testing the water when it comes to smallsatellites. In February 2016, Azerbaijan’s Azercosmos wasreportedly in talks with the Turkish Space TechnologiesResearch Institute (TÜBITAK UZAY) for mutual scientific andtechnical support for the production of micro and nano-satellites. Azercosmos, which currently operates one satelliteand has another under development, could fare very well out

Big steps for small satellitesSatellite manufacturing is big, expensive, business. Space mission costs, including satelliteproduction, insurance and launch services, can easily exceed US$200m. These astronomicalcosts have traditionally kept many countries from investing in their own space programmes,meaning that only the richest nations like the USA, Russia and China have highly-developedspace industries. However, with the advent of small satellites, it has become possible for smallercountries and commercial organisations to begin their own space programmes.

Nodes satellites being prepared for Thermal Vacuum Testing. Photo courtesy of NASA

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of the low-cost small satellites, avoiding the heavyinvestments required by early adopters.

Nayif-1: The UAE’s first small satelliteThe UAE has been active in the satellite industry for a numberof years now. In 2006, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed binRashid Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of theUAE, established the Emirates Institution for AdvancedScience and Technology (EIAST), which was in 2015incorporated into the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre(MBRSC). The MBRSC works to promote space science andresearch in the UAE. It launched its first satellite, DubaiSat-1, in 2009 and has since remained active in the researchand deployment of new satellites.

Dubai’s EIAST, in partnership with American Universityof Sharjah (AUS), is now developing its first CubeSat projectwith support from Innovative Solutions in Space (ISIS), a smallsatellite company based in the Netherlands. Developmentstarted in 2014, although the initial piggy-back launch on aFalcon-9FT rocket was delayed from the end of 2015 to early2016.

The cubeSat, named Nayif-1, is being designed and builtby engineering students from EIAST and AUS in theNetherlands. It will carry the AMSAT FUNcube 5 amateurcommunications payload, which will provide environmentaldata with a new UHF to VHF linear transponder. Nayif-1 willalso feature an autonomous attitude determination andcontrol system. A ground station with a SDR dongle receiver,which will be operated by engineering students from the UAE,will be built at AUS. The students will also use a unique, in-house designed dashboard to display data and greetings inArabic.

Nayif-1 will be launched into an elliptical, sun synchronouslow Earth orbit (LEO) of 400x750km. The satellite will passover the UAE twice each day. One pass will be used foreducational purposes, while the other will be used for amateurradio communications.

However, Nayif-1 is just the tip of the iceberg when itcomes to the UAE’s expansion of its satellite sector. The

Future Centre for Advanced Researches and Studies(FARAS) has predicted that the UAE will deploy at least 18satellites by 2018. Upcoming projects include KhalifaSat,which will provide high resolution images for disastermanagement and environmental monitoring, among otherapplications. The launch of this first Emirati-only built satelliteis scheduled for 2018. The Mars Hope mission, anotherupcoming project for the UAE, will be the first unmannedprobe sent to Mars by the UAE and is due for launch in 2020.

Training the next generationSmall satellites provide interesting opportunities for a varietyof sectors, but perhaps most notably, the education industry.All over the world, programmes are springing up at schools,colleges and universities where students are able to designand build small satellites without the previously-prohibitivecosts. Given that many of the satellite industry’s key playersare nearing retirement, it is of the utmost importance thatnew generations learn the fundamental skills of satelliteengineering.

The first satellite built by US high school students waslaunched in 2013 by NASA. The launch carried 29 nano-satellites, including the TJ3Sat cubesat built at ThomasJefferson High School in Alexandria, Virginia, USA.

“Onboard the satellite, a Text Speak module is used toconvert text messages into an analogue voice signal,” saidthe website. “Students and other users from around the worldcan submit text strings to be uploaded to the TJ3Sat website.Approved text strings will be transmitted to the satellite andthe resulting voice interpretation will be relayed back to Earthover an amateur radio frequency using the onboard Stensatradio.”

NASA’s Cubesat Launch Initiative has selected more than90 cubesats from public and private institutions andgovernment labs to launch as auxiliary payloads aboardcommercial rockets since 2010.

“The advancements of the cubesat community areenabling an acceleration of flight-qualified technology thatwill ripple through the aerospace industry,” said Jason Crusan,Director of Advanced Exploration Systems. “Our futuremissions will be standing on the developments the cubesatcommunity has enabled.”

In recent years, private companies have begun to focustheir satellite educational efforts at school-age students.Australia’s Launchbox, founded in 2014, produces severalkits based on CubeSat technology, designed for use inprimary and secondary schools. The participating studentsplan launch missions, record measurements from the launchprocess, and receive and analyse HD video and GPSmeasurements from the launched satellite 32km above Earth.Since inception, the company has introduced more than 50schools to space.

Satellite constellationsThe advent of small satellites opens the door for numerousnew opportunities, including low-cost satellite constellations.The constellations can be designed for specific tasks atrelatively short notice, in keeping with the rapidly-changingneeds of the modern world.

OneWeb and Airbus Defence and Space recentlyannounced the creation of OneWeb Satellites. The new 50:50

NanoRacks CubeSats deployed from station.Photo courtesy of NASA

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joint venture will design and build 900 satellites for theOneWeb constellation, which will offer high-speed internetwith global coverage. OneWeb Satellites will also be able tobuild satellites, platforms and equipment to be marketed byAirbus Defence and Space to other operators of futureconstellations.

“As we build out the constellation, besides its very reliablesatellite performance heritage and technical support, Airbusbrings design for manufacturing capability into this operation,which is key to achieving both our short term and long termgoals for providing cost effective solutions on time for ourfuture customers,” said Matt O’Connell, CEO of OneWeb.

“On both sides of the Atlantic, our teams are now workingunder a common flag to meet the incredible challenge: tomass-produce 900 satellites for the OneWeb constellation,”said Eric Béranger, Head of Programmes Space Systems.“For several months now, we have been working on the designof this unprecedented constellation and how we are going tomanufacture them – both ground-breaking in their own way.The next step will be to set up a prototype line in Toulousefor production of the first ten satellites. This will also be usedto test the industrialisation method for the series productionof the other satellites.”

OneWeb Satellites will undertake design activities for theentire OneWeb satellite fleet and the manufacture of the firstten flight models will take place in France, with the first evermass production of the operational satellites planned for NorthAmerica. Each satellite will weigh less than 150kg and will

operate in low Earth orbit (LEO). They will be launched byArianespace and Virgin Galactic starting from 2018 and reachtheir orbital positions using electrical propulsion.

In other news, two Japanese Universities, HokkaidoUniversity and Tohoku University, and eight Asian countries(the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar,Bangladesh, Thailand and Mongolia) have joined forces tobuild a network of up to 50 micro-satellites to monitor theregion for natural disasters. The micro-satellites are 50cmcubes weighing 50kg each, with a manufacturing cost ofUS$2.54m per unit. They will be launched using Japaneserockets or from the International Space Station. The satelliteswill orbit 300-500km above the Earth’s surface and beequipped with a camera that can achieve Earth surfacephotographs with a 3-5m resolution. Two of the satellites havealready been built by the Philippines and will be transportedto the International Space Station in the Summer of 2016 forlaunch.

Small satellites are here for the long haulSmall satellites are here to stay. As nations collectively tightentheir belts in response to slowing economies and an uncertainfuture, the cost and speed advantages of small satellitescannot be ignored.

The ultimate effect this will have on the rest of the satelliteindustry is unclear, but satellite parts manufacturers wouldbe wise to invest in the development of parts optimised forsmall satellites in the near future.

A Minotaur I rocket carrying, among other payloads, 11 small cubesat research satellites. Photo courtesy of NASA

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