// ORBITAL LOGISTICS AND PROPULSION TERM
Picosatellite
Very small satellites, typically weighing less than 1 kg, used for various scientific or educational missions.
TECHNICAL DEFINITION
Picosatellites are miniaturized artificial satellites, often weighing 0.1-1 kg, designed for low-cost scientific research, technology demonstration, or educational purposes, frequently deployed in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
BACKGROUND
The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC), formerly NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC), is a NASA program for development of far reaching, long term advanced concepts by "creating breakthroughs, radically better or entirely new aerospace concepts". It funds work on revolutionary aeronautics and space concepts that can dramatically impact how NASA develops and conducts its missions. The program operated under the name NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts from 1998 until 2007, and was reestablished in 2011 under the name NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts and continues to the present.
READ MORE ON WIKIPEDIASYNONYMS & ALIASES
- Pico-sat
- Tiny satellite
- Nanosatellite
USAGE NOTE
Picosatellites enable universities and small organizations to access space for research.
DEVELOPERS
Organizations developing technology related to Picosatellite.
A Scottish company that specializes in building and launching picosatellites. They developed the PocketQube standard, a 5cm cube satellite, and provide launch services for this class of spacecraft.
Acquired by SpaceX, Swarm operates a large constellation of the world's smallest commercially operational satellites, the SpaceBEEs. These 0.25U picosatellites provide low-bandwidth global connectivity for Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
A Spanish company dedicated to the development of picosatellites for low-power IoT communications. They design and manufacture satellites based on the PocketQube standard for various applications, including asset tracking and remote sensing.
A pioneering university research lab that co-developed the original CubeSat standard. The SSDL created the OPAL (Orbiting Picosatellite Automated Launcher) and the KickSat project, which deployed even smaller 'femtosatellites' from a CubeSat platform.
NSL designs and manufactures miniaturized satellite components and systems. They are known for their EyeStar line of radios and the FASTBUS platform, supporting missions for CubeSats, ThinSats, and picosatellites.
The aerospace faculty at this Dutch university is a key research center for small satellites. Their projects include the development of picosatellites, such as the Delfi-PQ PocketQube, for technology demonstration and scientific research.
The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation is a worldwide non-profit organization that designs, builds, and funds satellites for the amateur radio service. The organization has a long history of developing small spacecraft, including some that fit the picosatellite class.