## 6 Conclusions and Future Perspectives  
This paper has presented an analysis of the requirements for a satellite system for archaeology based on a specification drawn up from ideal requirements in a Scottish context. The analysis highlights the extent to which existing satellite data, even against the recent proliferation of suitable systems, is not as readily available as might be expected. Thus, while tasking existing systems shows promise, a bespoke system should offer increased performance. The'satellite for archaeology' simulation analysis presented here should contribute to assessment of the suitability of applications of satellite remote sensing for archaeology, drawing out the nature and reasons for the compromises that are routinely made in fundamental areas of source data collection. This study illustrates the extent to which archaeologists are most often 'passive' receivers of source data collected according to imperatives set by others. While this will remain largely inevitable, aspects of the analysis should be useful in promoting heritage concerns and specifications in future satellite system designs, and, at the very least, promoting a better understanding of the systems that produce their data amongst users of satellite derived data. High-level design for a bespoke satellite for archaeology system suggests that eight 100 kg spacecraft at approximately 581 km altitude could meet the defined needs. While the bespoke nature of traditional space missions makes cost estimates challenging, based on the cost of the similar sized Carbonite-2 spacecraft, each spacecraft could be expected to cost in the region of $6.3 million USD [46]. Rocket Lab USA provide dedicated launches for up to 150 kg to low-Earth orbit for an indicative cost of $4.5 million USD [47]. Assuming one launch per spacecraft, this would give an estimated build and launch cost in the region of c. $80-90 million USD. By heritage standards, this is a lot of money, but could be off-set by cost-sharing amongst countries at similar latitudes, with commercial tasking to subsidise costs and other social ventures offering further potential funding. Very-high-resolution multi-spectral satellite imagery with frequent revisit across Europe is expected to be valuable for many applications beyond cultural heritage. As such, a collaborative mission addressing a variety of compatible user needs could be envisioned, while additional imagery collection beyond the primary mission schedule could allow for repurposing and use by wider communities for many years into the future. It is beyond the scope of this paper to further explore these considerations, but they are raised here because of the potential they offer for archaeological considerations to be more directly taken account of in the design of future systems. This is especially pertinent as the trajectory of satellite development will continue to offer improved spatial resolution imagery from smaller spacecraft and reduced launch  
Figure 8: Robinson projection map of the world with lines of \(\pm\)56\({}^{\circ}\) latitude indicated. Regions of the Earth close to these latitudes would experience coverage similar to Scotland from the proposed satellite constellation. costs, allowing similar performance to be achieved at a lower cost. Furthermore, development of satellite relay systems [48; 49], inter-satellite links [48; 50], responsively manoeuvrable spacecraft [51; 52] and federated satellite systems [53] may allow for new methods of operation that could be suitable for archaeological applications, in particular due to the seasonal restrictions on observations. For example, the challenge of high cloud cover could, in future, be addressed through on-board autonomous agility. Forward-facing cloud-detection cameras for spacecraft are currently being developed, which would enable spacecraft to autonomously slew and plan data collection to mitigate the effects of cloud cover [54].