A small satellite, miniaturized satellite, or smallsat is a satellite of low mass and size, usually under 1,200 kg (2,600 lb). While all such satellites can be referred to as "small", different classifications are used to categorize them based on mass. Satellites can be built small to reduce the large economic cost of launch vehicles and the costs associated with construction. Miniature satellites, especially in large numbers, may be more useful than fewer, larger ones for some purposes – for example, gathering of scientific data and radio relay. Technical challenges in the construction of small satellites may include the lack of sufficient power storage or of room for a propulsion system.
Earth Resources Observation Satellite (EROS) is a series of Israeli commercial Earth observation satellites, designed and manufactured by Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI), with optical payload supplied by El-Op. The satellites are owned and operated by ImageSat International N.V. (ISI), a company founded in 1997, as a Joint venture between IAI, El-Op and Core Software Technology (CST). EROS A was launched on December 5, 2000 and EROS B on April 25, 2006.
Secondary payload, also known as rideshare payload, is a smaller-sized payload transported to orbit on a launch vehicle that is mostly paid for—and with the date and time of launch and the orbital trajectory determined—by the entity that contracts and pays for the primary launch. As a result, the secondary payload typically obtains a substantially reduced price for transportation services to orbit, by accepting a trade off of the loss of control once the contract is signed and the payload is delivered to the launch vehicle supplier for integration to the launch vehicle. These tradeoffs typically include having little or no control over the launch date/time, the final orbital parameters, or the ability to halt the launch and remove the payload should a payload failure occur during ground processing prior to launch, as the primary payload typically purchases all of these launch property rights via contract with the launch services provider.
Deep Space Industries, or DSI, was an American privately-held company operating in the space technology and space exploration sectors. It was acquired on January 1, 2019 by Bradford Space.
Planet Labs PBC is a publicly trading American Earth imaging company based in San Francisco, California. Their goal is to image the entirety of the Earth daily to monitor changes and pinpoint trends.
Space launch market competition is the manifestation of market forces in the launch service provider business. In particular it is the trend of competitive dynamics among payload transport capabilities at diverse prices having a greater influence on launch purchasing than the traditional political considerations of country of manufacture or the national entity using, regulating or licensing the launch service.
Spire Global, Inc. is a space-to-cloud data and analytics company that specializes in the tracking of global data sets powered by a large constellation of nanosatellites, such as the tracking of maritime, aviation and weather patterns.
Satellogic Inc. is a company specializing in Earth-observation satellites, founded in 2010 by Emiliano Kargieman and Gerardo Richarte.
NanoAvionics Corp is a small satellite bus manufacturer and mission integrator founded as a spin-off from Vilnius University, Lithuania in 2014.
Kepler Communications Inc. is an international satellite telecommunications company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with presence in the UK and the USA. The company's stated mission is to create the internet for space and allow-in-space communications for the future space economy. It has also worked on building a satellite network for IoT communication systems.
Firefly Alpha is a two-stage orbital expendable small lift launch vehicle developed by the American company Firefly Aerospace to compete in the commercial small satellite launch market. Alpha is intended to provide launch options for both full vehicle and rideshare customers.
Mu Space and Advanced Technology Co., Ltd., operating under the name Mu Space Corp, is an aerospace manufacturer and internet service provider in Southeast Asia, founded by James Yenbamroong in June 2017.
Pixxel is a US/Indian based private space technology company, aiming to put a constellation of 30+ hyperspectral Earth observation micro-satellites into a Sun-synchronous orbit in the 2020s. The company is headquartered in El Segundo, California and Bengaluru, Karnataka. It was founded by Awais Ahmed and Kshitij Khandelwal while still studying at BITS Pilani in 2019. Pixxel was also Asia's only space startup to qualify for the 2019 Techstars Starburst Space Accelerator in Los Angeles.
Swarm Technologies, Inc. is a company building a low Earth orbit satellite constellation for communications with Internet of things (IoT) devices using a store and forward design. Social Capital partners Jay Zaveri and Arjun Sethi incubated and seed funded Swarm, Craft Ventures was an early investor. On 16 July 2021 Swarm entered into an agreement to become a wholly owned subsidiary of SpaceX.
Photon is a satellite bus based on Rocket Lab's kick stage.
Astrocast is a Swiss satellite communications company based in Lausanne. It aims to establish a global satellite network for IoT applications.
Lynk Global is a company developing a satellite-to-mobile-phone satellite constellation that aims to provide a "cell tower in space" capability for global mobile phone service coverage, including in underserved rural areas without cellular coverage.
ThrustMe is a deep tech company that designs miniaturized aerospace thrusters for small satellites, increasing the life of satellites and making them more affordable.
SatRev S.A. is a Polish company established in 2016, that specialises in building small, lightweight, nanosatellites. The company was listed in the NASA's "State of the Art Small Spacecraft Technology" report as one of 12 in the world.
Spacety is a Chinese satellite technology company established in 2016 with a focus on the development, manufacture, and operation of micro/nano-satellites for various applications including earth observation, scientific research, and communication.
