Microsatellites

[bearnard44]

Does anybody have a piece of information about microsatellites? I wanna know the capability they have, what kind of mission they have, will microsatellites be able to substitute the satellites we have now?

[Phi for All]

You should contact one of the companies that manufacture them, and let us know what you find out. But don't bother if you're just trying to promote a particular company. We're a science discussion site, and we don't allow advertising, but we're extremely interested in the technology and would love to discuss it with you.

[bearnard44]

The only information I found that this type of satellites is used for different purposes, I could even guessed that such kindsof satellites exist. Some of these satellites are only 45 kg and with length less than 1 meter. 

[Ghideon]

36 minutes ago, Phi for All said:

But don't bother if you're just trying to promote a particular company.

ESA has an introduction about CubeSats. This information seems not very biased towards a specific manufacturer:

Quote

CubeSats are typically built up from standard cubic units each measuring 10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm 

...

These small satellites provide affordable access to space for small companies, research institutes and universities. Their modular design means that subsystems are available off-the-shelf from different suppliers and can be stacked together according to the needs of the mission. This allows CubeSat projects to be readied for flight extremely quickly — typically within one or two years.

CubeSats are now commonly used in low Earth orbit for applications such as remote sensing and communications. But as engineers become more familiar with the technology, CubeSats are beginning to venture farther afield. 

Source: https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Preparing_for_the_Future/Discovery_and_Preparation/CubeSats

The form factor of a CubeSat allows them to be stacked and placed in unused space in a launch vehicle. 

[swansont]

Some are even smaller. Cubesat is one type, falling under the informal “picosatellite ” category of small satellites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CubeSat  (edit: xpost with Ghideon)

More info on the groups: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_satellite#Classification_groups

[Enthalpy]

On 12/29/2020 at 9:57 AM, bearnard44 said:

Does anybody have a piece of information about microsatellites?

I was the project leader for Sara, at the club Esieespace
space.skyrocket - digitalcommons.usu.edu

Microsats are defined by their mass, but this relates loosely with the capabilities of a satellite, as electronics gets smaller.

You need area, which converts indirectly to mass, for instance to broadcast TV from geosynchronous orbit. Big antenna, big solar arrays for power. Unless many satellites can do the job from a low orbit, with little power and less directional antennas, this needs a big heavy satellite. Or for radar imagery.

Where you want only sensors, signal conditioning and processing, small satellites are as good as big ones. Just like a mobile phone fit in a luggage piece in 1980 but in a pocket now.

I see a different criterion: complexity. Difficulty of design is the first cost factor at one or few satellites (maybe not at 1000), bad company organisation is the second one (or in the reverse order). Size has little to do here. Build the satellite too big, and its launch will cost more. Miniaturise the same complexity, and design cost skyrocket, provided the project finishes.

So you must distinguish between a small company, a university team... that defines a simple project and packs the (real, not academic) competence at one place, and a pool of multinational companies where incompetent managers define a standard satellite because they can only copy what they read elsewhere, and order to make it micro because it's fashionable - their conclusion will inevitably be "we tried, and experience tells it's a bad option".

A few options that define the complexity and the probability of failure:
Has the team already made projects together and with the own hands? Space isn't that difficult. Technology is, organisation too.
Has the team already thrown quality standards and methods over board? Do the people experiment and prototype?
Can the designers build the parts and equipment themselves?
Could you suppress the international or multi-university collaboration?
Do you need orbit control?
Do you need attitude control?
Do you need several ground stations?