... are currently around 70 per year. This is in addition to the general increase in space traffic in LEO mainly fuelled by small satellites and cubesats as well as nanosats, which grant cheaper access to space. Even before these recent trends, space...
... in which spacecraft are deployed for a number of important space missions Self-assembly, which involves small satellites with specialised capabilities self-organising to fulfill the objectives of a larger mission, is enabled by advances in formation...
... internet ‘bubble’, two considerations moderate the relevance of this analogy. First, technology has evolved and new small satellites have improved in terms of performance/cost and performance/size ratios. Some (although not all) technological...
... the current Japanese space industry because there is too much risk in challenging the NewSpace economy with a small satellite constellation or recycling the first stage of a launch vehicle. Instead, the Vision targets niche technologies and services...
... in the mid-1990s (within the Technology, Engineering and Quality Directorate) with the aim of developing small satellites dedicated to technology demonstrations. Up to now, three Proba missions have been successfully launched and operated, starting...
... provide global coverage via a large, or mega-constellation, of closely connected small satellites using inter-satellite links to adaptively route traffic, starting and ending with very small terminals at each end. This eliminates the need for the...