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ISSN 2070-7401 (Print), ISSN 2411-0280 (Online)
Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa
CURRENT PROBLEMS IN REMOTE SENSING OF THE EARTH FROM SPACE

  

Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa, 2026, V. 23, No. 5, pp. 195-207

Assessment of operational lifetime of a small spacecraft with hyperspectral Earth remote sensing equipment in very low Earth orbit

I.S. Tkachenko 1 , V.V. Volotsuev 1 , V.V. Salmin 1 , O.D. Zhaldybina 1 , M.A. Ivanushkin 1, 2 , V.V. Mayorov 1 
1 Samara National Research University, Samara, Russia
2 Image Processing Systems Institute ― Branch of Federal Scientific Research Centre “Crystallography and Photonics” RAS, Samara, Russia
Accepted: 11.08.2026
DOI: 10.21046/2070-7401-2026-23-5-195-207
The paper addresses the problem of improving the spatial resolution of hyperspectral imaging instruments onboard small satellites for Earth remote sensing. It is shown that reducing the operational orbit altitude from conventional 500–700 to 200–300 km makes it possible to achieve a spatial resolution of approximately 7 m/px without increasing the mass and dimensions of the optical system. An analysis of current requirements for hyperspectral data in precision agriculture, environmental monitoring, and anthropogenic emission detection is conducted. The orbit altitude of 250–300 km is substantiated as optimal. A structural layout of an 8U CubeSat small spacecraft is developed. Requirements for the propulsion system based on an ablative pulsed plasma thruster with a thrust of 0.205 mN and a propellant mass of 200 g are analyzed. Numerical simulations of orbit correction cycles and propellant consumption under different levels of solar activity are performed. The proposed approach enables maintaining the operational orbit altitude for 270–320 days under cyclic thruster operation. The obtained results confirm the feasibility of developing a small spacecraft with a hyperspectral payload operating in very low Earth orbit and comparable in mass and dimensions to existing counterparts.
Keywords: small spacecraft, very low Earth orbit, hyperspectral payload, Earth remote sensing, ablative pulsed plasma thruster
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