Owen Hawkins
Development Manager
Surrey Satellite Technology
UK

Biography
Owen Hawkins (BSc. MSc.) is an applications expert at SSTL, working on the downstream uses of imaging satellites. Across the whole range of observation methods, Owen monitors technology trends and forecasts future satellite uses. Owen has spent 7 years working in the geospatial industry, now applying his expertise to satellites.

Abstract
User Needs-Based Earth Observation Satellite Design

SSTL is a proponent of needs-based satellite design due to the efficiencies and reduced cost resulting from this approach. At the satellite system level, very major changes may be required to achieve seemingly simple capability improvements and vice versa. These desired user improvements are presented across a selection of mission concepts. The requirements are then categorised based on the impact on the system in terms of payload and satellite mass, power and other satellite system aspects depending on their method of implementation. This aims to demonstrate the relative difficulty or ease with which certain applications are met, and to identify 'easy wins' in terms of applications that are possible on board very small and small satellites. With the increasing interest in fully commercially funded satellite missions, the mission affordability is of great interest as companies wish to fully fund satellite missions from data revenues. Few reviews of the relationship between the engineering approach used and the end imagery or data product are in existence. This paper seeks to explain these relationships from the perspective of the data user or satellite operator.