Progress Bar

Now that you're finished deciding on the function of your satellite, it's time to move on to the next step in the design process.

Create criteria.

Criteria are guidelines or specifications that you decide on before you design something. If you keep them in mind throughout the design process, you won't have to go back and change things that don't meet your requirements. Every time you make a design decision, you can measure them against your criteria. Criteria are generally written as: "the ____, the better".

Since you've probably never designed a satellite before, I've made you a list of some important criteria for satellites.

• The lighter, the better (the heavier something is, the more fuel the rocket or shuttle needs to launch the satellite, and this costs more money).
• The smaller, the better (the satellite has to fit in the Space Shuttle Payload Bay, or in the nose cone of a rocket. Being small will also help make the satellite light).
• The cheaper, the better (someone has to pay for them).
• The more efficient, the better (satellites should work smarter not harder).
• The more durable, the better (the longer a satellite can last, the more useful it will be).
• The less moving parts there are, the better (moving parts are more likely to break down in space).
• The simpler, the better (if it's less complicated, there's less chance something will go wrong).

Write the criteria here in your notebook - you'll definitely need to refer to them later (eg. light, small, cheap, etc.)

Can you think of any other criteria for satellites? These are just a few examples.

When you're done writing down your criteria, check off Step 2.