Small satellites: Continuous improvements in project management

'Small Satellites' and 'Faster, Better, Cheaper' (or FBC) represent low-cost, fast track, and efficient management concepts that have revolutionized the implementation of satellite missions during the last decade. After a few well-publicized mission failures in 1999, serious doubts on the merits of the FBC principles have arisen: many critics believe that it is not realistic to expect that all of the three objectives symbolized by the letters FBC can be accomplished simultaneously. The recent FBC mission failures have lead to a number of detailed NASA studies and recommendations aiming to refurbish and to reestablish the FBC methodology. In particular, the importance of applying prudent risk management principles has been stressed. The present paper provides a slightly different perspective on the shortcomings of the FBC philosophy as practiced by large space agencies. It proposes enhancements that are inspired by the single-team organizational set-ups that are typically found in the smaller Institutes that have been building Small Satellites with fairly low failure rates since many years.