By Levi John
The New Space has provided opportunities for small companies too. Unlike the past where nanosatellites were considered suitable for large companies with large financial resources, it is now possible for any company to benefit from nanosatellites, thanks to CubeSats. A CubeSat is less expensive and lighter, and these two factors make it easy to load on a spacecraft. The Cubesat components from electronic parts have helped in the creation of less expensive satellites for a short period. Here are five areas that benefit from CubeSats.
- IoT and Telecommunication
Nanosatellites have produced numerous opportunities for businesses. They have laid a foundation for IoT that connects businesses all over the world. Today, companies do not require ground communication infrastructure. They have, therefore, led to the growth of networks and sensitized objects that need global communication.
- Earth Observation
CubeSats are vital in monitoring earth activities and presenting data on management of the natural resources. In short, nanosatellites analyze human activities in agriculture, forests, and the entire environment with the aim of improving the living conditions of earth beings. This technology sends images from any part of the world and provides critical data on other areas like mining, oil industry, fishing, and citizen security. Through crop control, CubeSats send images that allow controlling of crops and detecting the areas that need fertilization or irrigation. The data provided by these satellites can be used to approximate damages from plagues, diseases, or natural phenomena like the weather.
When it comes to weather tracking, these nanosatellites are used in industries most affected by climate change. They are also able to predict natural calamities and help to fight these climate changes.
- Asset Tracking
Nanosatellites help in tracking logistics and geolocation of assets. The good thing about CubeSats in asset tracking that surpass land navigation is that they are able to spot an object anywhere, whether it is at sea or remote places. If assets can be tracked, it means that it is easy to control their flow. There is a wide range of applications in asset tracking that these satellites are offering for the future. Some are ship tracking, managing fleet, and ADS-B systems. Therefore, they are providing real-time details and solutions to logistic management for complex situations.
- Signal Monitoring
Just like in earth observation, nanosatellites can help to provide information about the impact of a disaster and how serious a specific area is affected. This happens since the nanosatellites are able to monitor the radio signals from the earth. This allows the responsible entities to plan effectively for relief and rescue.
- Other Scientific Applications
Besides these applications, nanosatellites are vital in scientific research, observation programs, testing systems in space, biomedical research, and missions within the planets. The low cost and availability of CubeSat mechanical components are giving opportunities for countries without space activities in space to initiate space programs.
Conclusion
CubeSats presented a new direction for space industries more than 15 years ago. Compared to conventional satellites, CubeSats are relatively smaller, cost less, have a shorter time of development, and pose fewer chances of failure. With such benefits, CubeSats have become acceptable in various applications, including the ones mentioned above.
