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Satellite Bus Comparison

Compare commercial satellite bus platforms side-by-side. Evaluate mass, power, lifetime, heritage, cost, and propulsion systems to find the right bus for your mission.

Showing 22 of 22 satellite buses

Dove (SuperDove)

Planet Labs

Small
Mass
5 kg
Power
15 W
Lifetime
3 yrs
Cost
$300K
Heritage
500 units
Propulsion

None (drag-based deorbit)

Applications
Earth ObservationRemote Sensing

XB1

Blue Canyon Technologies

Small
Mass
12 kg
Power
40 W
Lifetime
5 yrs
Cost
$1M
Heritage
45 units
Propulsion

Cold gas

Applications
Technology DemonstrationScienceEarth Observation

M700

AAC Clyde Space

Small
Mass
50 kg
Power
80 W
Lifetime
5 yrs
Cost
$2M
Heritage
18 units
Propulsion

Cold gas / Electric

Applications
Earth ObservationIoTTechnology Demonstration

XB12

Blue Canyon Technologies

Small
Mass
60 kg
Power
120 W
Lifetime
7 yrs
Cost
$3M
Heritage
25 units
Propulsion

Green monopropellant

Applications
Earth ObservationCommunicationsISR

S-CLASS

York Space Systems

Rideshare
Mass
85 kg
Power
200 W
Lifetime
5 yrs
Cost
$3M
Heritage
30 units
Propulsion

Green monopropellant

Applications
Earth ObservationISRCommunications

YAM Series

Loft Orbital

Rideshare
Mass
130 kg
Power
350 W
Lifetime
5 yrs
Cost
$5M
Heritage
6 units
Propulsion

Green monopropellant

Applications
Hosted PayloadEarth ObservationIoTISR

SSTL-150

SSTL (Airbus)

Small
Mass
150 kg
Power
250 W
Lifetime
7 yrs
Cost
$8M
Heritage
30 units
Propulsion

Hydrazine monopropellant

Applications
Earth ObservationCommunicationsScience

OneWeb Satellite Bus

Airbus Defence & Space

Rideshare
Mass
150 kg
Power
1.5 kW
Lifetime
5 yrs
Cost
$1M
Heritage
650 units
Propulsion

Xenon Hall-effect thruster

Applications
LEO ConstellationBroadband Internet

Photon

Rocket Lab

Rideshare
Mass
170 kg
Power
200 W
Lifetime
5 yrs
Cost
$7M
Heritage
8 units
Propulsion

HyperCurie (bipropellant)

Applications
LEO/Lunar MissionsScienceTechnology Demonstration

ESPA-Class Microsatellite

Northrop Grumman

Small
Mass
180 kg
Power
300 W
Lifetime
5 yrs
Cost
$10M
Heritage
15 units
Propulsion

Hydrazine / Electric

Applications
ISRTechnology DemonstrationScience

BCP-2000

Ball Aerospace

Medium
Mass
350 kg
Power
1.0 kW
Lifetime
10 yrs
Cost
$40M
Heritage
20 units
Propulsion

Hydrazine bipropellant

Applications
Earth ObservationScienceWeather

LEO Vantage

MDA (now Terran Orbital)

Medium
Mass
500 kg
Power
1.8 kW
Lifetime
7 yrs
Cost
$20M
Heritage
5 units
Propulsion

Green monopropellant

Applications
LEO ConstellationEarth ObservationCommunications

Starlink Bus (v2 Mini)

SpaceX

Rideshare
Mass
800 kg
Power
4.5 kW
Lifetime
5 yrs
Cost
$500K
Heritage
7,000 units
Propulsion

Krypton Hall-effect thruster

Applications
LEO ConstellationBroadband Internet

GEOStar-3

Northrop Grumman

Medium
Mass
2.8 t
Power
12.0 kW
Lifetime
15 yrs
Cost
$100M
Heritage
30 units
Propulsion

Bipropellant / Electric

Applications
GEO CommunicationsGovernmentMilitary

SSL 1300

Maxar Technologies

Medium
Mass
3.5 t
Power
20.0 kW
Lifetime
15 yrs
Cost
$130M
Heritage
120 units
Propulsion

Bipropellant / Electric hybrid

Applications
GEO CommunicationsBroadcastingMilitary

Spacebus Neo

Thales Alenia Space

Medium
Mass
3.8 t
Power
20.0 kW
Lifetime
15 yrs
Cost
$140M
Heritage
8 units
Propulsion

Electric (PPS-5000 thrusters)

Applications
GEO CommunicationsBroadcastingHTS

OneSat

Airbus Defence & Space

Large
Mass
4.0 t
Power
20.0 kW
Lifetime
15 yrs
Cost
$160M
Heritage
6 units
Propulsion

Electric (Hall-effect thrusters)

Applications
GEO CommunicationsHTSGovernmentIn-orbit Reconfigurable

A2100

Lockheed Martin

Large
Mass
4.2 t
Power
15.0 kW
Lifetime
15 yrs
Cost
$180M
Heritage
45 units
Propulsion

Bipropellant / Electric hybrid

Applications
GEO CommunicationsMilitaryGPS

Eurostar Neo

Airbus Defence & Space

Medium
Mass
4.5 t
Power
25.0 kW
Lifetime
15 yrs
Cost
$150M
Heritage
12 units
Propulsion

Electric (Hall-effect thrusters)

Applications
GEO CommunicationsBroadcastingGovernment

Spacebus 4000

Thales Alenia Space

Large
Mass
5.2 t
Power
16.0 kW
Lifetime
15 yrs
Cost
$155M
Heritage
60 units
Propulsion

Bipropellant (Apogee motor + thrusters)

Applications
GEO CommunicationsBroadcastingMilitary

1300-Class

Maxar Technologies

Large
Mass
5.5 t
Power
25.0 kW
Lifetime
15 yrs
Cost
$170M
Heritage
95 units
Propulsion

Bipropellant / Electric hybrid

Applications
GEO CommunicationsHTSBroadcastingGovernment

Boeing 702

Boeing Defense & Space

Large
Mass
6.0 t
Power
18.0 kW
Lifetime
15 yrs
Cost
$200M
Heritage
55 units
Propulsion

XIPS ion thrusters / Bipropellant

Applications
GEO CommunicationsBroadcastingMilitary
22
Bus Platforms
16
Manufacturers
8,783+
Total Heritage Units
4
Bus Classes

Related Pages

Compare SatellitesSatellite BlueprintsConstellation DesignerMission Cost Calculator