Nanosatellites

26 III-1bLaunch Costs

Merlin F. Barschke

Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Technische Universität Berlin, Germany

26.1 Introduction

The launch costs for a nanosatellite mission play an important role in the overall cost estimate, as they account for a significant fraction of the total mission costs. Apart from the mass of the spacecraft to be launched, there are several factors that influence the final cost of the entire launch campaign. These include volume of the spacecraft's envelope on the launcher, its form factor, the target orbit, as well as the nationality of satellite developer and launcher. This chapter gives an overview over the current launch market for small satellites, as well as over emerging trends such as the upcoming generation of microlaunchers that might significantly influence the launch market in the future. Furthermore, it covers topics such as launch sites, the different milestones from launch reservation to the checkout campaign, and the costs associated to the launch of a nanosatellite.

26.2 Launching Nanosatellites

Sputnik 1, the first satellite that was ever launched into orbit had a launch mass of just over 80 kg and can therefore be considered a small satellite. However, although some of the spacecraft that followed after Sputnik also had launch masses below 100 kg, the focus soon shifted toward larger spacecraft and thus to larger launchers. It was only in the 1970s that universities started to investigate the capabilities of small ...