Status and trends of small satellite missions for Earth observation

Small satellites for remote sensing-how is a small satellite characterized, what is the basis for it, what are the trends, and what the application areas. The paper gives some insights in related facts and trends. The requirements concerning spatial, spectral and time resolution for the manifold application areas indicate the wide range of potential application for small satellites. Most of them can be covered using small satellites because of their already proven high performance capabilities in terms of spatial and spectral resolution. The implementation of satellite constellations to increase the time resolution and ground coverage is a unique feature of small, low-cost satellites. One payload example (BIRD) is given to show the potential of small satellites to give even better results compared to the existing fleet of larger satellites. More examples are given for small satellite constellations and formations in order to show how small satellites can be used to improve time resolution and ground coverage as well as to solve tasks which a single satellite is unable to solve. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.