October 2020
Open Source Space
...the-shelf (COTS) components. The prospect of affordability and access to the slow but gradual development of these small satellite missions allowed international teams with limited budgets to consider owning and controlling their own spacecraft. This...
September 2023
A multifaceted approach to space sustainability
... issues have already occurred. The first was the unauthorised launch of multiple unlicensed and untrackable small satellites by Swarm Technologies Inc in January 2018 in defiance of a ruling by the Federal Communications Commission, for which the...
October 2023
Slovenia’s footprint in space
..., as we have been recognised as a trustworthy supplier in the domain of small-scale satellites.” explains Gacnik. SkyLabs AOCS (Attitude and Orbit Control System) avionics stack for small satellites is based on a NANOhpm-obc and picoRTU system, which...
March 2015
Sizing down and reaching higher with CubeSats
..., allowed us to jump at least two years in their development. But the future suggests even more opportunity for small satellite launches. Companies ranging from Virgin Galactic to XCOR to new entrants such as Rocket Lab in New Zealand are...
March 2015
Sky links: from multi-satellite systems to nano-launchers
.... Standardised technology is key A high level of standardisation and unification in complex technical systems (which include small satellites) helps move to serial production. Serial production lowers the overall cost of production and on-board...
March 2015
Small is the new big: why micro-satellites require new laws
... very soon. Just recently, two major commercial organisations have announced their intention to invest in huge constellations of small satellites (4,000 satellites for Space X and 650 for Virgin Galactic9) to broadcast the Internet to the world. This...
