Development of the Small Satellite Cost Model 2019 (SSCM19)

Abstract

Prompted by the rise in the use of small satellites throughout the space industry in the late 1980's, The Aerospace Corporation began to study small satellites to better understand the design principles that were being employed in their implementation. These studies highlighted the fact that cost models developed for traditional large satellites were not applicable to small satellites. This led to the development of the Small Satellite Cost Model (SSCM) in the mid 1990's. This model estimates subsystem- and system-level costs for satellites weighing less than 1000 kg using cost estimating relationships (CERs) derived from actual costs and technical parameters. Over the years, SSCM has evolved to account for the increasing number of small satellites that have been launched, which has included refining the CERs and increasing the scope of the model. This paper will discuss the development of the current version of SSCM released in 2019 (SSCM19). The topics covered will include the history of SSCM, the CER generation process, updates from the previous version of SSCM, the application of the model and future efforts to enhance the model.