Page 89 - International Space Station Benefits for Humanity, 3rd edition.

The Small Satellite Revolution

The modern Small Satellite—SmallSat—revolution began in the 1990s with advances in low-power,
highly integrated and lightweight microelectronics. SmallSats offer many advantages over their large,
conventional counterparts, including simplified development, relative ease of construction and testing,
and lower launch costs. Through a concerted program of investment and development, NASA and
the International Space Station (ISS) were instrumental in building a fledgling technical approach for
SmallSat deployment into a sustainable and growing market.

Small to Big: Enabling a
Growing SmallSat Marketplace
Direct ISS involvement with a specialized form The CubeSat has come to
of small satellites, known as CubeSats, began in dominate the SmallSat market,
2012 when the Japanese Kibo module deployed representing 87% of all
its first CubeSat. A CubeSat is a SmallSat designed
to specific standards that were developed by the SmallSats launched as of 2017.
California Polytechnic State and Stanford Universities.
The CubeSat has come to dominate the SmallSat
market, representing 87% of all SmallSats launched
as of 2017. CubeSats are built to standard than 200 CubeSats were launched from the ISS alone.
dimensions (Units or “U”) of 10 x 10 x 10 centimeters Worldwide, more than 725 CubeSats were launched
(~4 x 4 x 4 inches). They can be 1U, 2U, 3U or 6U in that period,with the rate of launch growing
in size, and typically weigh less than 1.33 kilograms
(3 pounds) per U. by 66% per year.
The first CubeSats deployed from the ISS did so
CubeSats are a relatively recent development, through the capabilities of the Japan Aerospace
with the first-ever CubeSat launched in 2003. It took Exploration Agency’s (JAXA’s) Kibo module. Kibo’s
nearly a decade for the CubeSat form to catch on,
with only 23 CubeSat launches for the entire year unique capabilities include an airlock system and a
robotic arm. The first orbital deployment of CubeSats
in 2012. However, following completion of ISS from Kibo was successfully conducted in October
assembly in 2011, launch rates have increased 2012 through the Small Satellite Orbital Deployer
dramatically. Indeed, between 2012 and 2017 more
(J-SSOD) developed by JAXA. The J-SSOD is capable

BIRDS-2 deployed from the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM). From left to right: JEM airlock slide table with
BIRDS-2 CubeSats representing Bhutan, Malaysia, and the Philippines, ready for deployment (July 30, 2018);
BIRDS-2 satellite deployment from the JEM Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (August 10, 2018); BIRDS-2 satellites
following deployment.
Image credit: NASA

75