Editing Small satellite (section)

== Rationales ==
{| class="wikitable floatright"
!|Group name<ref name=brycesmall/>
!|Mass (kg)
|-
||Extra Heavy satellite
||> 7,000
|-
||Heavy satellite
||5,001 to 7,000 
|-
||Large satellite
||4,201 to 5,000
|-
||Intermediate satellite
||2,501 to 4,200
|-
||Medium satellite
||1,201 to 2,500
|-
||Small satellite
||601 to 1,200
|-
||[[#Minisatellites|Mini satellite]]
||201 to 600
|-
||[[#Microsatellites|Micro satellite]]
||11 to 200
|-
||[[#Nanosatellites|Nano satellite]]
||1.1 to 10
|-
||[[#Picosatellites|Pico satellite]]
||0.1 to 1
|-
||[[#Femtosatellites|Femto satellite]]
||<0.1
|}

One rationale for miniaturizing satellites is to reduce the cost; heavier satellites require larger rockets with greater thrust that also have greater cost to finance. In contrast, smaller and lighter satellites require smaller and cheaper launch vehicles and can sometimes be launched in multiples. They can also be launched 'piggyback', using excess capacity on larger launch vehicles. Miniaturized satellites allow for cheaper designs and ease of mass production.

Another major reason for developing small satellites is the opportunity to enable missions that a larger satellite could not accomplish, such as:
* Constellations for low data rate communications
* Using formations to gather data from multiple points
* In-orbit inspection of larger satellites
* University-related research
* Testing or qualifying new hardware before using it on a more expensive spacecraft