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Putting Satellite
Into
Cereal Box

Cereal-box-size room for satellite

In a rocket, only a tiny cereal-box-size space is reserved for a satellite. Why is there so little space on such a giant rocket? Most of the rooms in a rocket are occupied by fuel. Because the Earth's gravity is so powerful, transporting a tiny satellite needs a lot of energy to get out of the Earth.

Check how do we launch the things into space

Wide solar panels are more useful
Have you ever seen a satellite in a movie? Wide and glittering solar panels are very distinguishable. This glittering solar panel generates the necessary power for the satellite.

So? To provide enough energy, the size of solar panels is better to big.
But larger panels take up too much space on rockets, making transportation extremely expensive.

Here is the design dilemma: The smaller satellite is less expensive. However, the bigger solar panel is more useful.

Can we make it small?
This dilemma is tough to resolve. Can we make it small and make it large again?

Then we may launch large solar panel satellites into space.

Let's read the articles below and investigate the design problem.

“Solar panels in space could be a huge deal. The energy they collect could be beamed down to Earth or used to power spacecraft. But like so many other space travel and space exploration issues, the problem has to do with size. For a solar panel array to be worth the trouble it takes to get it into space, it would have to be pretty big. And to get something pretty big into space, you have to use a whole lot of resources – and most space shuttles really don’t have the room to carry a huge apparatus.”

from https://gajitz.com/origami-solar-array-blooms-in-space-to-collect-sun-power/

“he sad reality of space exploration is that it is very expensive to launch something into space. Prices go even further up when the satellites in question are bulky, as it is increasingly often the case. With the new solar arrays, spacecraft will be deployed farther from Earth, and still be able to produce electricity.”

from https://news.softpedia.com/news/Origami-Style-Solar-Arrays-to-Power-Up-Future-Satellites-and-Space-Stations-409705.shtml

“Ah, simplicity… sometimes so complex to achieve.

Designing technology for launch into space is an exacting and ever evolving enterprise. And these engineers and designers face the same problem we have when trying to squeeze that extra pair of shoes into our carry-on, a large piece of technology must fit on board, and then be unpacked successfully when needed in space”

from https://whipplerussell.com/blog/modern-design-using-origami-in-space

How can we solve this problem?