Payload and application selection for a mini satellite mission at very low orbit

In the last decades, there has been a large increasing of small-satellite applications in many space programs, thanks, in particular, to their reduced cost and response time compared to larger satellite projects. The satellite altitude is another factor that impacts on the mission performance and design, since it allows smaller and less powerful payloads to provide performance comparable to larger sensors at higher altitude, but at expense of high propellant consumption. This study concerns the selection of possible applications and related optical payloads for a mini satellite (IAA classification) of a total mass below 500 kg, operating at a Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO - altitude below 250 km), thanks to an Air-Breathing Electric Propulsion (RAM-EP) system to win the atmospheric drag. This satellite mission, hereafter referred as CLOSE, has the following features: altitude of 190 km, payload mass of about 100 kg, revisit time of about 10 days, power of 1750 w.