- Capability group
- Space Technologies
- Domain
- Critical Technology · Hard Power
- Identifier
- factbase.org/cap/GJS581S62J
- Reference
- Small satellite Wikipedia
Papers
2.6k
2020–2024
Paper growth
−12%
2020–24 on 2015–19
Patent families
24.7k
2020–2024
Filed abroad
24%
families in more than one office
In the framework
What the capability covers and what it leaves to others, and the indicators it will be measured by.
Bounds
Covers spacecraft technology and manufacture; the spacecraft on orbit register as Strategic Infrastructure's assets, their services and defence as National Security's capabilities, and constellation economics with the economic domains.
Lineage
Relocated in v0.1 from the split group (formerly Small satellites) at the same level, carrying its identifier; recast from an asset class, one size of spacecraft, to the spacecraft technology capacity, with size classes registering at the indicator layer.
Indicators
- satellites manufactured per yearPending
- constellations operatedPending
- satellite export ordersPending
Research
Papers classified to the capability, by year and by the nation of their authors' institutions, 2020–2024. Read from the v0.0 research topic Small satellites.
Papers by year
The five leading nations, papers by year
Share of papers, 2020–2024
Of papers with a known author nation; 40% have none and are left out.
- 1United States18.9%342 papers
- 2China13.8%250 papers
- 3Italy7.1%128 papers
- 4United Kingdom5.1%92 papers
- 5Germany4.9%89 papers
- 6India4.4%79 papers
- 7France4.0%73 papers
- 8Japan3.7%68 papers
- 9Spain3.3%59 papers
- 10Russia3.3%59 papers
Leading institutions, 2020–2024
By fractional count: each paper divided among its authors' institutions.
- 1China Academy of Space Technology34fractional papers
- 2Politecnico di Milano18fractional papers
- 3Harbin Institute of Technology16fractional papers
- 4Indian Space Research Organisation14fractional papers
- 5Kyushu Institute of Technology14fractional papers
- 6Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications13fractional papers
- 7Tsinghua University12fractional papers
- 8European Space Research and Technology Centre12fractional papers
- 9Beihang University11fractional papers
- 10Sapienza University of Rome11fractional papers
Patents
Patent families by the nation of origin of their applicants and their earliest priority year, from the CPC and IPC classes the capability is read from. 2025 onwards is incomplete: families are published 18 months after priority.
Families by priority year
The five leading origins, families by year
3,871 applicants filed here in 2015–2024; the five largest held 14% of families (HHI 71 of 10,000: unconcentrated).
Share of families by origin, 2020–2024
- 1China72.9%17,997 families
- 2United States11.1%2,739 families
- 3South Korea4.1%1,022 families
- 4Japan3.6%883 families
- 5France1.4%338 families
- 6Germany1.1%270 families
- 7Finland1.0%243 families
- 8Russia0.7%184 families
- 9Sweden0.7%170 families
- 10United Kingdom0.6%138 families
Applicants filing most internationally, 2015–2024
Families filed in more than one office, by applicant as the offices name them.
- 1HUAWEI TECH CO LTD739international families
- 2QUALCOMM INC394international families
- 3HUGHES NETWORK SYSTEMS LLC318international families
- 4ERICSSON TELEFON AB L M238international families
- 5BEIJING XIAOMI MOBILE SOFTWARE CO LTD233international families
- 6NOKIA TECHNOLOGIES OY229international families
- 7BOEING CO199international families
- 8MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORP197international families
- 9THALES SA192international families
- 10SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD184international families
Classification read
- B64G1/10 Satellites, constellations and interplanetary vehicles · 18.9k documents
- B64G1/22 Spacecraft equipment: attitude control, power, thermal, docking · 109.6k documents
- B64G4/00 Tools for work in space, including in-orbit servicing · 3.6k documents
- B64G3/00 Observing and tracking spacecraft · 2.5k documents
- H04B7/185 Satellite and airborne communication stations · 162.9k documents
Shares inventions with
Capabilities whose classes the same families also fall in, by overlap (Jaccard).
- Advanced Propulsion & Hypersonic Systems487 families · 0.045
- Space Launch & Reusable Systems382 families · 0.037
Companies
50 companies in this capability, across 8 regions. The leading 12:
- 1SpaceXBuilds and operates Starlink, the largest satellite constellation ever deployed (over 8,000 satellites in orbit), mass-producing its own buses, phased arrays and laser links, plus the Starshield variant for US government customers.Manufacture
- 2China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC)China's main spacecraft maker; its CAST and SAST academies build the DFH communications buses, Beidou navigation, Yaogan/Gaofen observation satellites and the Guowang constellation spacecraft.Manufacture
- 3AirbusAirbus Defence and Space builds telecom (OneSat, Eurostar), Earth-observation and navigation (Galileo) satellites, built OneWeb's first-generation constellation through a joint venture, and owns Surrey Satellite Technology and Tesat.Manufacture
- 4ThalesThrough Thales Alenia Space (67% owned, with Leonardo) it is Europe's other prime for telecom, navigation and science satellites, including the Iridium NEXT and SES O3b mPOWER-era payloads and the Space Inspire software-defined platform.Manufacture
- 5Lockheed MartinBuilds GPS III, Next-Gen OPIR missile-warning satellites and SDA Transport/Tracking Layer spacecraft on its LM 400/2100 buses, and bought smallsat maker Terran Orbital in 2024.Manufacture
- 6Northrop GrummanMakes GEOStar buses, SDA Tranche Transport and Tracking Layer satellites and Next-Gen OPIR Polar spacecraft, and pioneered commercial in-orbit servicing with its MEV life-extension vehicles.Manufacture
- 7BoeingIts Boeing Satellite Systems arm builds WGS, the O3b mPOWER constellation and the 702 bus, and its Millennium Space Systems subsidiary builds missile-tracking and FOO Fighter smallsat constellations.Manufacture
- 8Lanteris Space Systems (formerly Maxar Space Systems)The former SSL/Maxar Space Systems, a leading builder of 1300-series geostationary communications satellites and SDA Tranche Tracking Layer satellites; renamed in 2025 and announced for sale to Intuitive Machines.Manufacture
- 9L3Harris TechnologiesPrime for SDA Tracking and Transport Layer satellites and the HBTSS missile-tracking prototypes, and a major supplier of satellite payloads, antennas and sensors.Manufacture
- 10Amazon (AWS)Designs and serially builds, in its Kirkland plant, the satellites for its planned 3,236-satellite Kuiper (now Amazon Leo) broadband constellation, which began production launches in 2025.Manufacture
- 11China Satellite Network Group (China SatNet)State company created to build and run Guowang, China's planned 13,000-satellite national broadband megaconstellation, which has been deploying satellites since late 2024.Operation
- 12Mitsubishi ElectricJapan's leading satellite prime, building DS2000-bus communications satellites, the Michibiki QZSS navigation constellation and Himawari weather satellites, and it is a top patent applicant in this field.Manufacture