Small satellites an overview and assessment

The small satellite industry has seen incredible changes over the last few years. With new constellations of 1000+ satellites being proposed - the industry is primed for an explosion of growth. Governments are taking a new look at small satellites, as commercial customers use them for their flexibility, speed of development, resiliency, low cost, and tolerance of risk in cutting edge technology. A new era of small satellites has emerged augmenting larger systems and, in some cases, replacing them. Advances in micro-electronics have enabled small spacecraft to maintain performance characteristics of modern spacecraft in unbelievably small packages. These spacecraft are inexpensive to build, test, and launch - which has enabled the production of large constellations. These constellations are being used to provide daily imagery enabling new uses in defense, agriculture, business intelligence, forestry, and disaster recovery. Competitors are entering the small satellite market at a staggering rate providing new ideas and innovations. Small satellites will launch the world into the next space race as companies and countries look to develop new break throughs. These capabilities will connect our world in ways we cannot imagine, allowing us to provide precision support during disasters, and see our world in a new light.