Table 2.
Classification of small satellites [59].
| Classification | Mass | CubeSats and PocketQubes * | Industrial Developments and Products |
|---|---|---|---|
| FemtoSat | <0.1 kg | ||
| PicoSat | 0.1 to 1 kg | 0.25U/1 to 3 p | SpaceBEE (Swarm Technologies), Unicorn-2 (Alba Orbital) |
| NanoSat | 1 to 10 kg | 1 to 6 U | Dove (Planet), LEMUR (Spire) |
| MicroSat | 10 to 100 kg | 8 to 27 U | 8U, 12U, 16U platforms (GomSpace), up to 12U (EnduroSat), up to 27U (HEX20), VesselSat (LuxSpace) |
| MiniSat | 100 to 500 kg | Starlink (SpaceX), OneWeb |
* assuming a typical mass of less than 1.33 kg (3 lbs) per U and 250 g per p.