# An Overview of CubeSat Missions and Applications
## 9 Review Conclusions and Discussion
### CubeSats as Technology Demonstration Platforms  
It is already known that CubeSat's evolution has transformed how space missions are designed. Given their extremely low cost and development time in comparison to larger satellites, they can play a pivotal role in validating and testing novel technologies that can be scaled and transitioned to larger platforms. Demonstrations in propulsion and maneuvering provide invaluable insight about autonomous operations, such as docking and formation maintenance which pave the way to less ground control-reliant operations, deorbiting strategies which tackle the challenges induced by space debris, and propulsion systems which can be efficient and sustainable, enabling deep-space exploration. Demonstrations in the use of AI technology in communication systems enable efficient data transmission, useful in several other missions. Furthermore, quantum technology demonstrations represent another frontier where CubeSats are making groundbreaking contributions. Studying quantum mechanics and specifically how they can be implemented to communication systems and protocols can lead to the creation of secure space networks, revolutionizing both Earth and space communication. Last but not least, CubeSats have been at the forefront of novel mission architectures, such as asteroid mining and exploration and in-space manufacturing, both leading to a new era in deep-space exploration. It is evident that CubeSats have earned their position as indispensable tools for demonstrating, testing, and validating emerging technologies. One can say that almost every CubeSat mission is potentially a demonstration mission, since new manufacturing techniques, materials, and payloads are utilized on such cost and time efficient platforms. It is expected that as their capabilities grow, their role in supporting large-scale missions will become even more significant. Furthermore, inter-satellite optical communication systems have progressed from theoretical concepts to flight-proven technologies, exemplified by NASA's OCSD and MIT's CLICK missions demonstrating data rates exceeding 200 Mbps with compact 0.5 W laser terminals weighing under 0.60 kg. These systems now leverage phase-shift keying modulation and wavelength-division multiplexing techniques previously reserved for larger platforms, enabling constellation-wide data sharing with minimal power consumption. Software-defined radio (SDR) technology has similarly matured, with platforms like the Ettus USRP B205 mini and GomSpace's SDR-100 supporting multi-band operations from VHF through Ka-band on a single hardware platform. These SDRs now commonly incorporate field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) with radiation-aware design techniques, enabling in-orbit reconfiguration to adapt to changing mission requirements or mitigate detected anomalies. Missions demonstrating radiation-hardened components can help in evaluating the space conditions and deepen our understanding of their impact, leading to safer operations for both systems and humans. Radiation-tolerant commercial electronics have narrowed the historical gap between commercial and space-grade components. Techniques such as triple-modular redundancy implementation at the firmware level, radiation-aware circuit layout, and selective shielding have been combined with commercial semiconductor processes like silicon-on-insulator (SOI) to create components that achieve total ionizing dose tolerance exceeding 30 krad(Si) at a fraction of traditional radiation-hardened component costs. The COTS-in-space approach has been validated by missions like ESA's OPS-SAT and NASA's CPOD, demonstrating commercial processors operating reliably in Low Earth Orbit for multi-year durations. Texas Instruments' MSP430 FR family of microcontrollers with ferroelectric RAM has become particularly popular for CubeSat flight computers, offering inherent radiation resistance while maintaining the low power consumption critical for CubeSat power budgets.