Editing Small satellite (section)

=== Nanosatellites ===
[[File:Nanosatellites yearly launches.svg|thumb|Launched nanosatellites as of December 2023<ref name="nanosats" />]]

The term "nanosatellite" or "nanosat" is applied to an artificial satellite with a [[mass ratio|wet mass]] between {{convert|1|and|10|kg|abbr=on}}.<ref name=swma2014/><ref name=did20120630/><ref name=tristancho2010/> Designs and proposed designs of these types may be launched individually, or they may have multiple nanosatellites working together or in formation, in which case, sometimes the term "satellite swarm"<ref name=verhoeven2011>{{cite journal |last=Verhoeven |first=C.J.M. |author2=Bentum, M.J. |author3=Monna, G.L.E. |author4=Rotteveel, J. |author5=Guo, J. |title=On the origin of satellite swarms |journal=Acta Astronautica |date=April–May 2011 |volume=68 |issue=7–8 |pages=1392–1395 |doi=10.1016/j.actaastro.2010.10.002 |bibcode=2011AcAau..68.1392V|url=http://doc.utwente.nl/68513/1/IAC-09_D1_1_6.pdf }}</ref> or "[[fractionated spacecraft]]" may be applied. Some designs require a larger "mother" satellite for communication with ground controllers or for launching and docking with nanosatellites. Over 2300 nanosatellites have been launched as of December 2023.<ref name="database">{{cite web |url=https://sites.google.com/a/slu.edu/swartwout/home/cubesat-database |title=CubeSat Database |website=sites.google.com |publisher=Saint Louis University |first=Michael A. |last=Swartwout |access-date=1 October 2018}}</ref><ref name="nanosats">{{cite web |title=Nanosatellite & CubeSat Database |first=Erik |last=Kulu |date=4 October 2020 |url=http://www.nanosats.eu/ |access-date=5 January 2024}}</ref>

A [[CubeSat]]<ref>{{cite news |title= NASA Venture Class procurement could nurture, ride small sat trend |date= 8 June 2015 |work=[[SpaceNews]] |url= http://spacenews.com/editorial-nasa-venture-class-procurement-could-nurture-ride-small-sat-trend/ |access-date=14 December 2020}}</ref> is a common type of nanosatellite,<ref name="nanosats"/> built in cube form based on multiples of 10&nbsp;cm × 10&nbsp;cm × 10&nbsp;cm, with a mass of no more than {{convert|1.33|kg}} per unit.<ref name=DesignSpecs>{{cite report |title=CubeSat Design Specification Rev. 13 |work=The CubeSat Program |publisher=[[California Polytechnic State University]] |date=20 February 2014 |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5418c831e4b0fa4ecac1bacd/t/56e9b62337013b6c063a655a/1458157095454/cds_rev13_final2.pdf |access-date=14 December 2020}}</ref> The CubeSat concept was first developed in 1999 by a collaborative team of [[California Polytechnic State University]] and [[Stanford University]], and the specifications, for use by anyone planning to launch a CubeSat-style nanosatellite, are maintained by this group.<ref name=DesignSpecs/>

With continued advances in the [[Moore's law|miniaturization and capability increase of electronic technology]] and the use of [[satellite constellation]]s, nanosatellites are increasingly capable of performing commercial missions that previously required microsatellites.<ref name=tsitas2012/>
For example, a [[CubeSat|6U CubeSat]] standard has been proposed to enable a [[satellite constellation]] of thirty five {{convert|8|kg|abbr=on}} [[Earth-imaging satellite]]s to replace a constellation of five {{convert|156|kg|abbr=on}} [[RapidEye#Satellites|RapidEye]] Earth-imaging satellites, at the same mission cost, with significantly increased revisit times: every area of the globe can be imaged every 3.5 hours rather than the once per 24 hours with the RapidEye constellation. More rapid revisit times are a significant improvement for nations performing disaster response, which was the purpose of the RapidEye constellation. Additionally, the nanosat option would allow more nations to own their own satellite for off-peak (non-disaster) imaging data collection.<ref name=tsitas2012>{{cite journal |last=Tsitas |first=S. R. |author2=Kingston, J. |title=6U CubeSat commercial applications |journal=The Aeronautical Journal |date=February 2012 |volume=116 |issue=1176 |pages=189–198|doi=10.1017/S0001924000006692 |s2cid=113099378 }}</ref> As costs lower and production times shorten, nanosatellites are becoming increasingly feasible ventures for companies.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://nordic.businessinsider.com/why-self-organizing-companies-take-off-how-two-of-our-employees-got-our-firm-to-build-a-satellite--/ |title=Why self-organizing companies take off - How 2 employees at a Finnish tech firm invented and built a space program |work=Business Insider Nordic |first=Panu |last=Liira |date=13 February 2018 |access-date=5 August 2018 |archive-date=5 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180805030121/https://nordic.businessinsider.com/why-self-organizing-companies-take-off-how-two-of-our-employees-got-our-firm-to-build-a-satellite--/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Some examples of nanosatellites are the [[ExoCube (CP-10)]], [[ArduSat]], and SPROUT.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://directory.eoportal.org/web/eoportal/satellite-missions/s/sprout |title=SPROUT - Satellite Missions - eoPortal Directory |website=directory.eoportal.org |access-date=3 May 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160501182514/https://directory.eoportal.org/web/eoportal/satellite-missions/s/sprout |archive-date=1 May 2016}}</ref> Nanosatellite developers and manufacturers include [[EnduroSat]], [[GomSpace]], [[NanoAvionics]], NanoSpace, [[Spire Global|Spire]],<ref name=gaurd15>{{cite news |last=Barron |first=Rachel |title=Spire's Peter Platzer: the boss who never fires anyone |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/apr/06/spire-worker-happiness-jobs-careers-fired-tech-employees |access-date=21 April 2016 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=6 April 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428054305/http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/apr/06/spire-worker-happiness-jobs-careers-fired-tech-employees |archive-date=28 April 2016}}</ref> [[Surrey Satellite Technology]],<ref name=economist20140607/> [[NovaWurks]],<ref name=pa20131011>{{cite news |last=Messier |first=Doug |title=NovaWurks Awarded Contract for DARPA Phoenix Project |url=http://www.parabolicarc.com/2013/10/11/50313/ |access-date=13 October 2013 |newspaper=Parabolic Arc |date=11 October 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013021727/http://www.parabolicarc.com/2013/10/11/50313/ |archive-date=13 October 2013}}</ref> [[Dauria Aerospace]],<ref name=vb20131009>{{cite news |last=Cheredar |first=Tom |title=Dauria Aerospace lands $20M to grow its earth-monitoring nano satellite platform |url=https://venturebeat.com/2013/10/09/dauria-aerospace-funding/ |access-date=13 October 2013 |newspaper=VentureBeat |date=9 October 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013020912/http://venturebeat.com/2013/10/09/dauria-aerospace-funding/ |archive-date=13 October 2013}}</ref> [[Planet Labs]]<ref name="economist20140607" /> and [[Reaktor (company)|Reaktor]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://reaktorspace.com/ |title=Home - Reaktor Space Lab |website=Reaktor Space Lab |access-date=5 August 2018}}</ref>

==== Nanosat market ====
In the ten years of nanosat launches prior to 2014, only 75 nanosats were launched.<ref name="nanosats" /> Launch rates picked up substantially when in the three-month period from November 2013–January 2014 94 nanosats were launched.<ref name=economist20140607>{{cite news |title=Nanosats are go! |url=https://www.economist.com/news/technology-quarterly/21603240-small-satellites-taking-advantage-smartphones-and-other-consumer-technologies |access-date=12 June 2014 |work=Technology Quarterly Q2 2014 |publisher=The Economist |date=7 June 2014 |quote=On November 19th Orbital Sciences, an American company, launched a rocket from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. It carried 29 satellites aloft and released them into low-Earth orbit, a record for a single mission. Thirty hours later, Kosmotras, a Russian joint-venture, carried 32 satellites into a similar orbit. Then, in January 2014, Orbital Sciences carried 33 satellites up to the International Space Station (ISS), where they were cast off a month later. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140612022309/http://www.economist.com/news/technology-quarterly/21603240-small-satellites-taking-advantage-smartphones-and-other-consumer-technologies |archive-date=12 June 2014}}</ref>

One challenge of using nanosats has been the economic delivery of such small satellites to anywhere beyond [[low Earth orbit]]. By late 2014, proposals were being developed for larger spacecraft specifically designed to deliver swarms of nanosats to trajectories that are [[List_of_orbits#Special_classifications|beyond Earth orbit]] for applications such as exploring distant asteroids.<ref name=wired20141217>{{cite magazine |last1=Woo |first1=Marcus |title=Designing a Mothership to Deliver Swarms of Spacecraft to Asteroids |url=https://www.wired.com/2014/12/cubesat-mothership-space-asteroid-exploration/ |access-date=17 December 2014 |magazine=Wired |date=20 December 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217134956/http://www.wired.com/2014/12/cubesat-mothership-space-asteroid-exploration/ |archive-date=17 December 2014}}</ref>

==== Nanosatellite launch vehicle ====
With the emergence of the technological advances of [[miniaturization]] and increased [[Financial capital|capital]] to support private spaceflight initiatives in the 2010s, several startups have been formed to pursue opportunities with developing a variety of small-payload Nanosatellite Launch Vehicle (NLV) technologies.

NLVs proposed or under development include:
* [[Virgin Orbit]] ''[[LauncherOne]]'' [[upper stage]], intended to be [[Air launch to orbit|air-launched]] from [[Scaled Composites White Knight Two|WhiteKnightTwo]] similar to how the [[SpaceShipTwo]] spaceplane is launched.<ref name=economist20140607/><ref name=bbc20120711>{{cite news |last=Amos |first=Jonathan |title=Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic to launch small satellites |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18801180 |access-date=13 July 2012 |newspaper=BBC News |date=11 July 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120713034917/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18801180 |archive-date=13 July 2012}}</ref>
* Ventions' Nanosat upper stage.<ref name=pa20120702>{{cite news |last=Messier |first=Doug |title=DARPA Awards 6 Small Airborne Launch Vehicle Contracts |url=http://www.parabolicarc.com/2012/07/02/darpa-awards-6-small-airborne-launch-vehicle-contracts/ |access-date=29 November 2012 |newspaper=Parabolic Arc |date=2 July 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120705033359/http://www.parabolicarc.com/2012/07/02/darpa-awards-6-small-airborne-launch-vehicle-contracts/ |archive-date=5 July 2012}}</ref>
* [[Nammo]]/[[Andøya Space Center|Andøya]] ''[[North Star (rocket family)|North Star]]'' ([[polar orbit]]-capable launcher for a {{convert|10|kg|abbr=on}} payload)<ref name=nsw20130128>{{cite news |last=Lindsey |first=Clark |title=North Star rocket family with hybrid propulsion |url=http://www.newspacewatch.com/articles/north-star-rocket-family-with-hybrid-propulsion-.html |access-date=28 January 2013 |newspaper=NewSpace Watch |date=28 January 2013 |url-access=subscription|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130620190153/http://www.newspacewatch.com/articles/north-star-rocket-family-with-hybrid-propulsion-.html |archive-date=20 June 2013}}</ref>
* {{asof|2013|04}}, [[Garvey Spacecraft]] (now [[Vector Launch]]) is evolving their ''Prospector 18'' suborbital launch vehicle technology into an orbital nanosat launch vehicle capable of delivering a {{convert|10|kg|abbr=on}} payload into a {{convert|250|km|abbr=on}} orbit.<ref name=pa20130404>{{cite news |last=Messier |first=Doug |title=Garvey Nanosat Launcher Selected for NASA SBIR Funding |url=http://www.parabolicarc.com/2013/04/04/garvey-nanosat-launcher-selected-for-nasa-sbir-funding/ |access-date=5 April 2013 |newspaper=Parabolic Arc |date=4 April 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130409141312/http://www.parabolicarc.com/2013/04/04/garvey-nanosat-launcher-selected-for-nasa-sbir-funding/ |archive-date=9 April 2013}}</ref>
* [[Generation Orbit]] is developing an air-launched rocket to deliver both nanosats and {{nowrap|sub-50 kg}} microsats to low Earth orbit.<ref name=economist20140607/>

Actual NS launches:
* [[NASA]] launched three satellites on 21 April 2013 based on smart phones. Two phones use the [[PhoneSat]] 1.0 specification and the third used a beta version of PhoneSat 2.0<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.phonesat.org/index.php |title=PhoneSat - home |access-date=24 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130423000649/http://www.phonesat.org/index.php |archive-date=23 April 2013}}</ref>
* [[ISRO]] launched 14 nanosatellites on 22 June 2016, 2 for Indian universities and 12 for the United States under the [[Flock-2P]] program. This launch was performed during the [[PSLV-C34]] mission.
* [[ISRO]] launched 103 nanosatellites on 15 February 2017. This launch was performed during the [[PSLV-C37]] mission.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india-countdown-begins-india-to-launch-record-104-satellites-on-single-rocket-368925 |title=ISRO sets new world record, successfully places 104 satellites into Earth's orbit |work=India TV News |date=15 February 2017 |access-date=15 February 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215070009/http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india-countdown-begins-india-to-launch-record-104-satellites-on-single-rocket-368925 |archive-date=15 February 2017}}</ref>