Tag Archives: small satellites

The Federal Communications Commission unveiled an optional authorization process for small commercial satellite systems with certain characteristics. Operators of satellites that have a wet mass of not more than 396.8 pounds and are built to remain in orbit for a short time period will be eligible to skip the licesing process, FCC said Thursday.

The Department of Defense’s recently established Space Development Agency is slated to release a request for information on low Earth orbit small satellite capabilities by summer of this year, Space News reported Wednesday. Fred Kennedy, director of the SDA, told reporters that he intends to launch SDA satellites into orbit by 2022. 

Thomas Webber, director of the U.S. Army's Space and Missile Defense Command Technical Center, has disclosed that the organization is focusing its technological efforts on high-energy lasers, small satellites and hypersonic weapons, Defense News reported Thursday.

NASA has released a new policy that seeks to streamline management and development processes for research teams that seek to offer investigation proposals for high-risk space projects that cost less than $150 million. The agency said Friday the new policy for Class D missions will take effect on Jan. 1, …

NASA has facilitated a meeting between spaceflight experts from multiple agencies to address technical challenges associated with the assembly of large structures in space. The space agency said Thursday the technology interchange meeting at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland was the third in a series of discussions between …

A three-member research team led by NASA technologist Vivek Dwivedi is working on a foldable radiator designed to control heat on small satellites. NASA said Tuesday the radiator’s design is based on origami and the device works to change shape to lessen or conserve heat. The space agency funds the effort through …

NASA plans to purchase Earth science data from small satellite constellations in 2017 to determine how the acquired data can help the space agency meet its needs, Space News reported Wednesday. Jeff Foust writes Michael Freilich, director of NASA’s Earth science division, said the agency intends to set aside several tens of millions …

NASA aims to launch six small satellite missions beginning this month to study Earth’s hurricanes, energy budget, aerosols and weather. The agency said Tuesday small satellites are often deployed as “secondary payload” aboard other missions’ rockets. The Radiometer Assessment using Vertically Aligned Nanotubes CubeSat will be launched this month to monitor changes in Earth’s energy budget …

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has started to explore methods for NGA to utilize satellite data from multiple commercial providers, Aviation Week reported Monday. Amy Butler writes NGA Director Robert Cardillo said the agency seeks to take advantage of the influx of small satellite and aerial imagery sources by partnering with …