SmallSats TOP STORY
According to a SpaceWorks study published in 2014, over 2000 nano/micro-satellites under 50 kg will need to be launched by 2020. Several of the companies interested in fulfilling that need presented their ideas at the International Astronautical Congress in Israel, including Zero 2 Infinity launching its new SmallSat launcher called Bloostar.
SmallSats TOP STORIES
© NASA
OCSD CubeSat
NASA and The Aerospace Corporation of El Segundo, California, have received confirmation the Optical Communications and Sensor Demonstration (OCSD) CubeSat spacecraft is in orbit and operational.
They say big things come in small packages, and that's evident with the small satellites that are becoming ubiquitous around NASA centers, university labs and even elementary school science classes.
In what scientists say signals a paradigm shift in interplanetary science, NASA has selected a shoebox-size mission to search for water ice and other resources from above the surface of the moon.
ESA's Asteroid Impact Mission, being studied for a 2022 arrival at the Didymos double asteroid, involves not just one but four spacecraft.
Equipment and data from the SpinSat investigation returns to Earth today, May 21, 2015, with splashdown of SpaceX's Dragon cargo spacecraft following its release from the International Space Station's robotic arm at 7:04 a.m. EDT.
With help from NASA, a small research satellite to test technology for in-space solar propulsion launched into space Wednesday aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, as part of the agency's CubeSat Launch Initiative.
NASA is extending an opportunity to college and university teams to propose small spacecraft technology projects that they can conduct in collaboration with NASA researchers.
In parallel with the Proba minisatellite missions, ESA is now also utilising much smaller 'CubeSat' nanosatellites. These are employed for the In-Orbit Demonstration (IOD) of miniaturised technologies and for small payload-driven missions.