![](\"http:\/\/www.esa.int\/var\/esa\/storage\/images\/esa_multimedia\/images\/2014\/06\/nanosatellite_model\/14563802-1-eng-GB\/Nanosatellite_model_small.jpg\")
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\nThe increasing prominence of small satellites was highlighted at the 2014 Small Satellite and Services Symposium<\/a>, co-organised by ESA and France\u2019s CNES space agency in Majorca, Spain last week.\n<\/p>\n \nMiniaturisation and other developments have boosted the capabilities of small satellites to the point when they are being used increasingly in scientific and operational roles.\n<\/p>\n \nAt the same time, smaller satellites are much cheaper to build and launch, putting them in reach of smaller businesses and individual university departments.\n<\/p>\n \nThis is a full-size model of Canada\u2019s BRIght-star Target Explorer (BRITE) nanosatellite<\/a> \u2013 around the size of a toaster \u2013 displayed at the symposium.\n<\/p>\n \nCarrying a miniaturised telescope able to distinguish a star\u2019s fluctuating brightness much more accurately than from the ground, multiple BRITE nanosatellites operate together as a constellation dedicated to stellar astronomy. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \t\t\t\t\t \nThe increasing prominence of small satellites was highlighted at the 2014 Small Satellite and Services Symposium<\/a>, co-organised by ESA and France\u2019s CNES space agency in Majorca, Spain last week.\n<\/p>\n \nMiniaturisation and other developments have boosted the capabilities of small satellites to the point when they are being used increasingly in scientific and operational roles.\n<\/p>\n \nAt the same time, smaller satellites are much cheaper to build and launch, putting them in reach of smaller businesses and individual university departments.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n