Small satellites: A new blue ocean for the development of the commercial space industry

Satellites are a core component of commercial spaceflight, encompassing almost the entire upstream and downstream of the industry, from manufacturing and launch to operation and application. Previously, satellites typically weighed in the ton range, cost tens or even hundreds of millions of yuan, had development cycles spanning several years, and launch costs often reached hundreds of millions of yuan. Commercial satellites required a decade or more to recoup their costs, and the high application fees deterred potential investors.

With the continuous development of satellite technology and applications, while demanding lower satellite costs and reduced risks, there is an urgent need to accelerate the satellite development and manufacturing cycle. This is especially true for dedicated satellites for single missions and satellite constellations, which require satellite technologies that are cost-effective and yield quick results. Small satellite technology has thus emerged to meet this need. Compared to large satellites, its advanced, fast, inexpensive, and reliable features offer people another possibility.

 Low quality, low cost, low risk 

Small satellites are not simply small in size, but rather feature highly integrated and automated technologies, especially the rapid development of computers, which has enabled the miniaturization of onboard control and processing computers. A small satellite platform typically includes systems for energy, communication, onboard data processing, and satellite attitude control, and its payloads include communication, Earth observation, and space science—truly a small but complete system.

From the perspective of development cycle, small satellites can quickly complete the entire process from design, manufacturing, launch and on-orbit operation, and can generally be developed within one and a half years, while their average lifespan is generally more than ten years.

Secondly, small satellites offer high cost-effectiveness. Their flexible launch methods are not limited to fixed launch towers; they can also be launched from aircraft or carried by other satellites, significantly reducing development and launch costs. The price of a single small satellite, including launch, is approximately 30 million RMB, making it not only inexpensive but also relatively low-risk.

Wide range of applications, meeting global coverage needs

Modern small satellites have a wide range of applications. In civilian fields, they can be used in communications, Earth observation, space remote sensing, meteorological observation, ocean exploration, ground reconnaissance, and scientific research. Among these, mobile communications using small satellites has become a hot topic, with Iridium and Globalstar being typical examples. Small satellites also play an important role in the military because they can be rapidly developed, launched, and deployed, thus meeting the special requirements of wartime.

Building upon this, the networking capability of small satellites is a key factor in the development of commercial small satellite companies. A small satellite constellation, formed by multiple satellites arranged in different orbital positions, can improve the time and resolution of missions, meeting the need for real-time global coverage.

At the same time, multiple small satellites can maintain relative positions and fly in formation to jointly carry out missions. The signals they observe can be coherently processed to form virtual detection satellites, enabling new applications that cannot be achieved by large satellites.

With the development of microelectronics, micromechanics, nanotechnology, and other technologies, as well as innovation in satellite design concepts, the trend of satellite miniaturization is accelerating, and the performance of micro and nanosatellites is rapidly improving, making them the most active component in the development of the small satellite field. Elon Musk's Starlink satellites are a prime example.

 Rapid development ushered in the era of commercialization.

In 2015, the era of commercial spaceflight began, with commercial small satellite companies starting to emerge globally. Several fundamental factors underpinned the development of the commercial small satellite industry:

I. Decreasing Launch Costs: With the rapid development of commercial rocket companies, led by SpaceX, in recent years, satellite launch costs have begun to decline significantly. It is expected that satellite launch costs will decrease further as reusable technology matures.

II. The aerospace industry is maturing: Traditional aerospace components are extremely expensive. To ensure component stability, the development cost of large satellites typically reaches hundreds of millions of yuan, and they use highly mature components with multiple backups. In the commercial aerospace era, COTS-level components are gradually maturing, allowing commercial small satellite companies to control costs and achieve rapid iterative upgrades through industrial-grade components.

Third, policy liberalization: With SpaceX occupying orbital resources by launching a large number of small satellites, governments and space agencies around the world have generally felt pressured and therefore have chosen to relax restrictions on the small satellite industry to a certain extent or provide corresponding policy support.

 The number of launches is increasing year by year, and countries are joining the race.

Benefiting from the aforementioned industry background, small commercial satellites have begun to develop rapidly. It is projected that the number of small commercial satellite launches will continue to grow year by year over the next 10 years. According to the latest statistics released by the US think tank Space Engineering, more than 300 micro-nano satellites weighing less than 50 kg were launched into space in 2017 alone.

On November 19, 2013, Orbital Sciences Corporation of the United States launched a rocket carrying 29 microsatellites and nanosatellites. Thirty hours later, the Russian company Kosmotras launched 32 microsatellites and nanosatellites into orbit. On February 15, 2017, India launched 104 satellites, 103 of which were microsatellites and nanosatellites. On February 22, 2018, SpaceX launched its Starlink project, with a Falcon 9 rocket sending two small experimental communications satellites into orbit. As of September 14, 2021, the Starlink project had launched a total of 1,791 satellites, with 76 satellites deorbited, leaving 1,715 currently in orbit.

Meanwhile, the UK and Sweden launched nanosatellites in 2000; France, India, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, South Korea, Thailand, Pakistan, and other countries already have their own small satellites. Furthermore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Taiwan are collaborating with major spacefaring nations to develop small or microsatellites.

△The "Experimental Satellite-1" and "Nano Satellite-1" were launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.

 my country's small satellite launch situation

As early as 1995, based on the national needs for future space-to-ground communication technology development, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) proposed to independently develop China's first low-orbit data communication microsatellite weighing less than 100 kilograms and its communication system. On October 21, 2003, the CAS's major knowledge innovation project, "Innovation-1" store-and-forward communication microsatellite, was successfully launched into orbit. This was China's first independently developed microsatellite weighing less than 100 kilograms, and also China's first generation of low-orbit data communication microsatellites, playing a crucial role in the research and development of microsatellites in China, and opening a new chapter in China's microsatellite development.

At 11:59 a.m. on April 18, 2004, at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, the Long March 2C carrier rocket successfully launched the "Experimental Satellite-1", independently developed by Harbin Institute of Technology, into space. At the same time, it also carried and launched the "Nano Satellite-1" experimental satellite, which weighs less than 25 kilograms and is used for high-tech exploration and experimentation. This marked an important breakthrough in my country's small satellite development technology.

In September 2008, the companion satellite of the Shenzhou-7 manned spacecraft was launched into space. This was China's first space-based microsatellite, developed based on the mature technology of the Innovation-1 microsatellite of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Subsequently, Innovation-1 (02) satellite was also successfully launched into space in November of the same year.

At 15:06 on May 10, 2012, my country successfully launched the Remote Sensing Satellite-14 into space using a Long March-4B carrier rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. Simultaneously, the TianTuo-1 satellite was also successfully launched. The successful launch of TianTuo-1 marked a significant breakthrough for China in the field of microsatellites.

From the successful launch of China's first artificial satellite in 1970 to today's launches of dozens of microsatellites in a single rocket, humanity's space journey has accelerated significantly. Further development of space exploration inevitably depends on cost reduction. The standardization, modularity, low cost, short development cycle, and flexible deployment of small satellites give them enormous development potential. The rapid rise of the small satellite industry is a necessity for the development of aerospace technology. It is believed that through continuous technological advancements, the potential advantages of small satellites will be further realized, providing stronger support for innovation and progress in space exploration.