Space hardware refers to the physical platform systems that make up a spacecraft: the bus (structural chassis, power, attitude control, thermal management, communications) and the payload (sensors, instruments, propulsion). Unlike terrestrial electronics, space hardware must withstand total ionising dose (TID), single-event effects (SEE), extreme thermal cycling (−150°C to +120°C in LEO), vacuum outgassing, and launch vibration loads — all without maintenance access.
Power systems dominate mass budget. GaAs triple-junction solar cells achieve ~30% efficiency (vs ~22% for silicon) and are space-heritage qualified. Li-ion batteries handle eclipse periods; battery specific energy is the binding constraint on power budgets for small sats.
Attitude determination and control systems (ADCS) use combinations of reaction wheels, magnetorquers, star trackers, and sun sensors. Pointing accuracy requirements cascade directly from payload needs (e.g. <0.01° for optical EO vs <1° for communications).
Investment relevance: the most interesting fundable space is subsystem innovation — novel materials for thermal management, AI-driven on-board processing, or new reaction-wheel designs for small form factors. The bus market itself is consolidating.
Frontier
- Can COTS-based satellite buses achieve acceptable reliability for LEO megaconstellations without traditional rad-hard qualification?
- What is the power-density limit for GEO solar panels without active thermal management at high albedo?
- How do ADCS systems scale below 1 kg for cubesat form factors without reaction wheels?