A satellite bus (or spacecraft bus) is the main body and structural component of a

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...

spacecraft A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, p ...

, in which the

payload Payload is the object or the entity which is being carried by an aircraft or launch vehicle. Sometimes payload also refers to the carrying capacity of an aircraft or launch vehicle, usually measured in terms of weight. Depending on the nature of ...

and all scientific instruments are held. Bus-derived satellites are opposed to specially produced satellites. Bus-derived satellites are usually customized to

customer requirement In product development and process optimization, a requirement is a singular documented physical or functional need that a particular design, product or process aims to satisfy. It is commonly used in a formal sense in engineering design, includi ...

s, for example with specialized

sensors A sensor is a device that produces an output signal for the purpose of sensing a physical phenomenon. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a device, module, machine, or subsystem that detects events or changes in its environment and sends ...

transponders In telecommunications, a transponder is a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response. The term is a blend of ''transmitter'' and ''responder''. In air navigation or radio frequency identification, a flight trans ...

, in order to achieve a specific mission. They are commonly used for

geosynchronous A geosynchronous orbit (sometimes abbreviated GSO) is an Earth-centered orbit with an orbital period that matches Earth's rotation on its axis, 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds (one sidereal day). The synchronization of rotation and orbital ...

satellites, particularly

communications satellites A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a Transponder (satellite communications), transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a Radi ...

, but are also used in spacecraft which occupy lower orbits, occasionally including

low Earth orbit A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never mor ...

missions.

Examples

Some satellite bus examples include: * Boeing DS&S

702 __NOTOC__ Year 702 ( DCCII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 702 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era b ...

Lockheed Martin Space Systems Lockheed Martin Space is one of the four major business divisions of Lockheed Martin. It has its headquarters in Littleton, Colorado, with additional sites in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; Sunnyvale, California; Santa Cruz, California; Huntsville ...

A2100 *

Alphabus Alphabus is a family of heavy geostationary communications satellites developed by a joint venture between Thales Alenia Space and EADS Astrium Satellites in France, with support of the Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES), the French space ...

INVAP INVAP S.E. is an Argentine company that provides design, integration, construction and delivery of equipment, plants and devices. The company operates in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, and delivers p ...

ARSAT-3K ARSAT-3K is a geostationary communications satellite bus designed and manufactured by INVAP of Argentina for the local telecommunication company ARSAT S.A. It is a small (4.2 kW of power generation and of launch mass) three axis stabilized pl ...

* Airbus D&S

Eurostar Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service connecting the United Kingdom with France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Most Eurostar trains travel through the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and France, owned and operated sep ...

ISRO The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO; ) is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bengaluru. It operates under the Department of Space (DOS) which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India, while the Chairman ...

I-1K I-1K (also referred to as INSAT-1000) is a satellite bus developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and marketed by Antrix Corporation. The I-1K bus is designed to be compatible with lightweight geostationary satellites and is common ...

I-2K I-2K is a satellite bus developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and marketed by Antrix Corporation. It is a standard bus for 2,000 kg class satellites; the 'I' in I-2K stands for INSAT, a group of communication satellites develo ...

I-3K I-3K or the INSAT 3000 is a satellite bus developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and marketed by Antrix Corporation and New Space India Ltd. It is the standard bus for 3,000-kg class satellites; the 'I' in I-3K stands for INSAT, ...

I-4K I-4K is a satellite bus being developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It will be a standard bus for class communication satellites; the ''I'' in I-4K stands for INSAT, a group of communication satellites developed and launched by I ...

I-6K I-6K is a Satellite bus developed by Indian Space Research Organisation The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO; ) is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bengaluru. It operates under the Department of Space (DOS) which i ...

, and

Indian Mini Satellite bus Indian Mini Satellite (IMS) is a family of modular mini satellite buses developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Variants See also * Comparison of satellite buses This page includes a list of satellite buses, of which multip ...

NASA Ames The Ames Research Center (ARC), also known as NASA Ames, is a major NASA research center at Moffett Federal Airfield in California's Silicon Valley. It was founded in 1939 as the second National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) laborat ...

MCSB * SSL 1300 *

Orbital ATK Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems (NGIS) was a sector (business segment) of Northrop Grumman from 2018 through 2019. It was formed from Orbital ATK Inc. a company which resulted from the merger of Orbital Sciences Corporation and parts of Alli ...

GEOStar ''Geostari'' (Georgian: ჯეოსტარი) is the Georgian franchise of the Idol series, which airs on Rustavi 2. Georgia is the fifth former Soviet country to have acquired an ''Idol'' franchise after Armenia, Estonia, Kazakhstan, and Ru ...

Mitsubishi Electric , established on 15 January 1921, is a Japanese multinational electronics and electrical equipment manufacturing company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the core companies of Mitsubishi. The products from MELCO include elevators an ...

DS2000 The DS2000 is a geostationary communications satellite bus designed and manufactured by Mitsubishi Electric of Japan. Designed to carry payloads between and , with power requirements of up to 15 kW. It is compatible with Ariane 5, Proto ...

Spacecraft bus A satellite bus (or spacecraft bus) is the main body and structural component of a satellite or spacecraft, in which the payload and all scientific instruments are held. Bus-derived satellites are opposed to specially produced satellites. Bus- ...

of the

James Webb Space Telescope The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope which conducts infrared astronomy. As the largest optical telescope in space, its high resolution and sensitivity allow it to view objects too old, distant, or faint for the Hubble Spa ...

* SPUTNIX TabletSat * SPUTNIX OrbiCraft-Pro

Components

A bus typically consists of the following subsystems:Satellite Bus Subsystems
, NEC, accessed 25 August 2012. *

Command and data handling The on-board data handling (OBDH) subsystem of a spacecraft is the subsystem which carries and stores data between the various electronics units and the ground segment, via the telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C) subsystem. In the earlier decad ...

(C&DH) system *

Communications system A communications system or communication system is a collection of individual telecommunications networks, transmission systems, relay stations, tributary stations, and terminal equipment usually capable of interconnection and interoperati ...

and

antenna Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to: Science and engineering * Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves * Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...

s * Electrical power system (EPS) *

Propulsion Propulsion is the generation of force by any combination of pushing or pulling to modify the translational motion of an object, which is typically a rigid body (or an articulated rigid body) but may also concern a fluid. The term is derived from ...

Thermal control A thermal column (or thermal) is a rising mass of buoyant air, a convective current in the atmosphere, that transfers heat energy vertically. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of Earth's surface from solar radiation, and are an example ...

Attitude control system Spacecraft attitude control is the process of controlling the orientation of a spacecraft (vehicle/satellite) with respect to an inertial frame of reference or another entity such as the celestial sphere, certain fields, and nearby objects, et ...

(ACS) *

Guidance, navigation, and control Guidance, navigation and control (abbreviated GNC, GN&C, or G&C and within the context of NASA operations, often pronounced 'Gintsee' or (IPA) ʤɪnsiː) is a branch of engineering dealing with the design of systems to control the movement o ...

(GNC) system * Structures and trusses *

Life support Life support comprises the treatments and techniques performed in an emergency in order to support life after the failure of one or more vital organs. Healthcare providers and emergency medical technicians are generally certified to perform basic ...

(for crewed missions).

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

Satellite Glossary

Spitzer's Spacecraft Bus

es:Satélite artificial#Modelo de satélite