September 2017
India’s dynamic ecosystem for space entrepreneurship
... each attempting to bring a new layer of innovation by different methods such as low-cost, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS), agile-mass manufacturing, and data fusion combined with machine learning. With a possible success rate of five...
August 2016
Smallsat launch strategy
... hardware and software, and the satellite parts are primarily sourced from Commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS) components from the commercial electronics industry and integrated using modern manufacturing techniques; a process we call ‘agile...
June 2015
Great expectations: launch markets, SpaceX, China, and other new players
... players besides SpaceX that are willing to transform the commercial launch market. Orbital – a competitor and a co-participator in COTS – is offering its medium-sized Antares launch vehicle as a comparatively low-cost alternative to NASA’s old “work...
June 2014
A revitalised space sector reduces costs and makes space data more accessible
...any parent will testify, travelling with a baby can be a nightmare because of all the associated paraphernalia. Travel cots in particular are often heavy and difficult to transport, and can be less than straightforward to assemble or disassemble. Now...
March 2016
Resource Prospector – a Lunar Pathfinder
... of the LCROSS mission. LCROSS was a pathfinder for cost-constrained missions, looking to Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) instruments and flight-proven instruments such as the LCROSS visible camera. Instruments from the commercial and...
August 2017
Space invaders and the usual suspects - disruptive trends in Earth observation
... space systems and services based on EO data. The massive use of high-performance commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies has already proved the feasibility of constellations of several tens of cubesats weighing around 5 kg and costing a few...
