From Connectivity to Advanced Internet Services: A Comprehensive Review of Small Satellites Communications and Networks

Abstract

Recently, the availability of innovative and affordable COTS (Commercial Off-The-Shelf) technological solutions and the ever-improving results of microelectronics and microsystems technologies have enabled the design of ever smaller yet ever more powerful satellites. The emergence of very capable small satellites heralds an era of new opportunities in the commercial space market. Initially applied only to scientific missions, Earth observation and remote sensing, small satellites are now being deployed to support telecommunications services. This review paper examines the operational features of small satellites that contribute to their success. An overview of recent advances and development trends in the field of small satellites is provided, with a special focus on telecommunication aspects such as the use of higher frequency bands, optical communications, new protocols, and advanced architectures.

CubeSat’s Deployable Solar Panel with Viscoelastic Multilayered Stiffener for Launch Vibration Attenuation

“…However, in recent, the trend of the CubeSat development is changing from traditional low-volume production to industry-scale high-volume production. This trend has facilitated the realization of more advanced and challenging missions based on CubeSat constellations, such as near real-time earth observation [4], worldwide internet service [5], and meteorological monitoring [6].…”

“…The 3 U or larger sized CubeSats, equipped with more advanced and miniaturized instruments such as cameras, antennas, sensors, and electronics, have been increasingly developed to improve mission capability of a CubeSat platform [4][5][6]. However, it has caused an increase in the electrical power required to realize the advanced CubeSat mission.…”

Non-Terrestrial Networks in 5G & Beyond: A Survey

“…Indeed, NTNs support broadcast/multicast IoT communications, Internet of Remote Things (IoRT) [100] applications, and Internet of Vehicles (IoV) [101] even across rural and remote areas (i.e., beyond the terrestrial coverage). Further, the important results achieved by the microelectronics and microsystems industries open a new direction for adopting smaller and more powerful satellites for the forthcoming 5G satellite era [12]. CubeSats, which originally aimed for university and research purposes [102], have been addressed over the years [103] [104].…”

Diseño de misión, síntesis de factores operacionales y representaciones del segmento espacial, caso FACSAT y EMFF

“…Desenho de missão e sínteses de fatores operacionais e representações do segmento espacial, Caso-facsat y emff configuren cada uno de los segmentos de acuerdo al servicio aeroespacial requerido (Burleigh et al, 2019). Con base en esta formulación del diseño de misión, se puede avanzar entonces en el análisis de requisitos y operación del satélite como segmento espacial que debe ser controlado y aprovechado en el tiempo de su vida útil.…”