Small satellites driving big change: A revolution in space

In Monaco in 2020, a team of engineers from a small company called Orbital Solutions launched the principality’s first satellite. It wasn’t a huge piece of state hardware or a decades-long national project – it was a compact CubeSat, built by a startup led by a composer-turned-engineer.

That launch was part of a profound turning point in the space industry. 

When we interviewed Francesco Bongiovanni (CEO, Orbital Solutions), he said: 

“I was inspired to establish Orbital because I discovered that the revolution in the space sector that had up until recently been the purview of large organisations, was now opening an entire new world to small companies and entrepreneurs. You could now become part of the fascinating adventure that is space.”

He was right. 

Across 2024 and 2025, a series of research studies have confirmed that miniaturisation has matured. 

One 2025 paper published in Aerospace defines a new class of planar, highly miniaturised spacecraft built around the limits of solar-cell efficiency and onboard power systems. The paper’s authors, Uludağ M.Ş. and Aslan A.R., show that satellites can now be scaled down to the physical minimum while retaining full subsystem functionality. The implication of this is that you no longer need tonnes of mass to do meaningful work in orbit. 

And that insight is echoed in NASA’s 2025 report on the state of small spacecraft tech. It states that “small satellite flight heritage has greatly increased” thanks to advances in microelectronics, modular design, and component standardisation. The agency presents this shift not as a novelty, but as a mainstream path for future missions – spanning Earth observation, communications, and planetary science.

It’s a movement built in miniature 

Smaller spacecraft equate to lower costs, of course; but their real power lies in accessibility. 

Following their 2020 launch, Orbital Solutions collaborated with SpaceX to launch a satellite assembled entirely by high-school students – part of the company’s STEMMSAT educational programme. Bongiovanni noted that it was a world first outside the US. 

This democratising effect is visible worldwide. In 2024, Iqtiar Siddique’s paper on the way that small satellites are revolutionising space exploration and Earth observation concluded that “advancements in miniaturisation, propulsion, and communication systems have enhanced small satellites’ capabilities for imaging and real-time data,” enabling universities, developing nations, and small businesses to join the space economy. 

So instead of being a side project, small satellites are becoming a main door into the industry for new players. 

New challenges, new opportunities 

With scale, however, come new kinds of engineering discipline. As spacecraft shrink, the margin for error narrows. A 2025 study published in Results in Engineering notes that “recent developments in the miniaturisation and cost reduction of small satellites have attracted the attention of researchers worldwide,” precisely because they introduce thermal constraints that didn’t exist at larger scales.

The study’s authors show that 4U and 8U CubeSats face steep heat-management challenges – but also that new materials and modular layouts can solve them. The result is a design discipline more akin to chipmaking than traditional aerospace: compact, precise, and endlessly iterative.

At the same time, payload capability is expanding. Another paper, this one from the 2025 SmallSat Conference, demonstrates that a 16U CubeSat can now deliver the optical resolution once reserved for large, high-cost constellations. As imaging sensors, propulsion units, and radios shrink, ‘shoebox satellites’ are crossing the performance line between novelty and utility.

For the industry, that’s the big news – the line between ‘toy’ and ‘tool’ has vanished.

The collaborative sky

As more organisations enter orbit, cooperation is starting to matter as much as competition. Speaking about Orbital Solutions’ development, Bongiovanni told us “We have gained expertise and credibility and are now cooperating with large companies and entities such as the Saudi Space Agency on some projects.” 

This model – of small, agile builders partnering with national agencies – reflects the pattern outlined in NASA’s 2025 report: the ecosystem is becoming hybrid. Governments provide infrastructure and launch support; startups bring speed, creativity, and niche innovation.

It’s a layered future rather than a hierarchical one.

And it’s not just about engineering. The cultural texture of space is changing too. Speaking at LEAP, Dr. Sian Proctor (Geoscientist, Astronaut, Artist, Space2inspire) reflected on how opportunity ripples outward when barriers drop.

“When people hear me say space to inspire, they think I’m talking about outer space. But I'm talking about this space. The space you inhabit.”

Her message, that access creates inspiration, fits the small satellite narrative perfectly. When technology becomes smaller, cheaper, and more inclusive, so does imagination.

And miniaturisation is a philosophical trend, as well as a technical one. We’ve spent most of the space age equating progress with size: bigger rockets, larger payloads, grander ambitions. Now, the trajectory has inverted. Progress looks like precision, modularity, and openness. It looks like a student building a payload that sends back real Earth data from orbit.

And while these satellites might be small, their impact on climate science, communications, and education is already vast. NASA’s report points to the rise of “distributed small-satellite systems” that expand Earth observation coverage and provide redundancy for global communications. Together, these swarms are forming an invisible infrastructure around the planet; a kind of digital nervous system that connects everything from smart agriculture to autonomous vehicles.

A new kind of space race 

So if the last century’s space race was about reaching orbit, then maybe this one is about sharing it. 

Miniaturisation has turned the cosmos into a commons. The tools of exploration are becoming tools of education, entrepreneurship, and creativity. And the innovators leading this transition are proof that access drives ambition.

Meet the builders behind this revolution at LEAP 2025. Explore how satellites and smart design are transforming industries both above and below the atmosphere – and be inspired to shoot for the stars.