This sattelitte clasification will help to have a clue :
Minisatellite, 100-180 kg,
Microsatellite 10-100 kg ( Include 8U -27U CubeSat) ,
Nanosatellite 1-10 kg ( include CubeSat >8U),
Picosatellite 0.01-1 kg ( include CubeSat >1U),
Femtosatellite, 0.001-0.01 kilograms.
CubeSat sizes :
from 0.25U to 27U,
from 0.2kg to 42kg.
1U CubeSat frame is 10cm*10cm*11.3cm (>1.3kg)
1.5U 10cm*10cm*17cm (>2kg)
2U CubeSat frame is 10cm*10cm*22.7cm (>2.66kg)
3U CubeSat frame is 10cm*10cm*34cm (>4kg)
Smallest existing CubeSat design is 0.25U and largest is 27U.
We have experience in CDS knowledge and realized some inquires before and have always wondered why optics for CubeSats are so expensive at such a low GSD. Frankly, we thought that's just a dumb idea to create a tiny satellite imagery instrument with such unbelievable GSD but the technology we had in mind does show promise. After a preliminary design review, the technique trick has been looked unmistakable. We have collected our seed fund out of our pockets. First, we had to run up our micro R&D lab in order to turn ideas and thoughts into the FEM. The team of two aerospace addicted guys (one of them has a mini MIT MEM degree) who did a tremendous job figured out that every calculation was correct. The prototyping work is underway, but most importantly we collect the paperwork to get a patent-pending status first.
As a startup, we are open to any offers and are flexible within a reasonable time. Moreover, we plan to launch our first technology demonstration 3U CubeSat by 2023. The CubeSat will contain COTS-made onboard components and an in-house made imagery payload. The optical payload product range will include GSD 2m @500km instrument suitable for 3U CubeSat and GSD1m @500km instrument suitable for 6U CubeSat along with an electronic control board.
The Ground Sampling Distance (GSD) is the distance between two consecutive pixel centers measured on the ground. The bigger the value of the image GSD, the lower the spatial resolution of the image and the less visible details. The GSD is related to the flight height: the higher the altitude of the flight, the bigger the GSD value.