# New Space Engineering Design: Characterization of Key Drivers
## 3 Results and Discussion
### Discussion per Application Domains
#### 3.2.1 LEO Constellations of Small Satellites  
The most representative example better encompassing the market trends of recent years is the rapid deployment of large constellations of small satellites (i.e., satellites with a mass below 500 kg) in Low Earth Orbit [23]. Small satellites have primarily served academic research or technology demonstration missions, characterized by a higher tolerance for risk compared to, for example, conventional, heavy telecommunication satellites [40; 85]. From a commercial perspective, similar reasons are behind the rise of constellations of small satellites, mostly related to the potentially short-term economic advantages that new private companies can benefit from. Already in the early 2000s, industry insights on small satellites clarified that \"small\" did not exclusively refer to reductions in mass, volume, or power, but rather indicated a lower overall mission cost, or, more accurately, an improved performance-to-cost ratio [86]. When deployed as macro-systems, small satellites are particularly suited for Earth observation applications, whose instrumentation has seen significant advancements lately, and for telecommunications (internet, Internet of Things, Machine to Machine), benefiting from their global coverage, high revisit rates, and built-in redundancy. A great boost is registered in terms of launches into space, as there has been a shift from the past, which confirms the typical modalities of New Space. Increased launch frequency, reusability, and vertical integration are among the main approaches used to cut costs for launching to LEO (which is also cheaper to reach than higher Earth orbits) [1; 5; 87]. Only on 15 March 2025, there were six launches toward LEO for different missions and from four different countries, setting a completely new global record [88]. Nowadays, companies have many affordable launch opportunities through Rideshare programs [89; 90]. SpaceX, arguably the most well-known New Space private company and, to date, the most advanced in its mega-constellation plan for efficient communication services, is expected to deploy up to 30,000 small satellites on its own [91]. This unprecedented scaling is enabled by development simplification (i.e., the use of COTS components, a lower number of parts, reduced redundancy, industrial production methods, etc. ), which supports the overarching driver of cost reduction. In fact, the unit cost of small satellites is considerably lower than that of traditional geostationary systems. To provide reference figures, a single GEO satellite for communication may cost approximately EUR 200-300 million, require several years for design and manufacturing, and can remain operational for over 10 years; in contrast, LEO satellites typically cost from a few hundred thousand to tens of millions of dollars per unit, depending on size and complexity, with shorter manufacturing times and operational lifetimes up to 5 years [92; 93; 94; 95]. Despite this, the total investment for LEO constellations can match or even exceed that of GEO missions due to the high number of satellites required and their shorter lifespans. For example, the French OneWeb's first-generation system, comprising more than 600 units, demonstrated unit costs of around EUR 1 million, with approximately 18 months for production and a total program cost of approximately EUR 5 billion [96; 97]. However, the key advantages of large constellations, such as incremental deployment, replaceability, standardized design, shorter production cycles, and streamlined architectures, make them more scalable and adaptable to iterative refinement [98]. Although detailed long-term performance data are still emerging, these characteristics are particularly relevant for private enterprises seeking rapid return on investment and reduced time-to-market [99; 100]. From a technical perspective, small satellites continue to perform reliably thanks to the concurrent miniaturization of subsystems and components (e.g., propulsion subsystems, sensors, microelectronics, etc.