According to a recent report by SpaceWorks, an aerospace company focused on delivering cutting-edge flight and space technologies, the small satellites industry is taking of — 2017 showed a 205 percent increase in smallsat launches, as compared to 2016, with a record number still awaiting launch. What’s more, forecasts for future spacecraft production, often by new entrants to the industry, look equally celestial.
However, producing these spacecraft involves some very specific requirements that newcomers to the market may not be aware of. To help harmonize the sector, ISO has just published the first-ever international technical specification for small spacecraft, which states the minimum requirements that every small spacecraft needs to comply with regardless of its mission.
Bringing together international expertise, ISO/TS 20991, Space systems — Requirements for small spacecraft — details the requirements for various stages of the small spacecraft system life-cycle.
Executive Comment
Paul Gill, Chair of the ISO technical subcommittee that developed the document, said that as many as 2,600 small spacecraft are estimated to launch over the next five years, many of them made by new operators. Paul said that ISO/TS 20991 will be of great benefit to small spacecraft developers, as well as launch operators, by providing the minimum requirements to ensure their safety and debris mitigation. It covers everything from the design, launch, deployment, operation and disposal, which will also give newcomers to the industry a means to access space, typically the domain of large companies and governments.
