A nanosatellite is a space vehicle with a size of 10 cm or less. They are also known as CubeSats, due to their shape which is typically that of a cube. Nanosatellites have been used for various purposes such as Earth observation, weather forecasting, communications, and even navigation.
The first nanosatellite was launched in 2003 by the University of Tokyo’s SPACE program. Since then, there has been an increase in the development and launch of these satellites by various countries and organizations around the world. As of 2018, there were over 1 thousand operational nanosatellites in orbit.
Nanosatellites offer many advantages over traditional satellites. They are much cheaper to develop and launch, and can be built quickly using off-the-shelf components. This makes them ideal for use in educational programs or for carrying out quick experiments in space. Additionally, because they are so small, multiple nanosatellites can be launched at the same time on a single rocket (known as a rideshare), further reducing costs.
Despite their advantages, nanosatellites do have some limitations compared to larger satellites. They generally have shorter lifespans due to their small size and lack of redundancy in critical systems. Additionally, they often have less power available than larger satellites (making them more reliant on solar panels), which can limit their functionality somewhat. However, advances in technology are slowly starting to close the gap between large and small spacecraft