Years of success in the aerospace industry has taught Kentucky Space several lessons. This thesis will summarize the accomplishments in an attempt to formulate a well-defined program for designing and testing small spacecraft in an environment with strict financial restraints. The motivation for producing this well-defined platform for testing small spacecraft arose when Kentucky Space became the liaison between NASA and its customers for the NanoRacks and CubeLab module program. Having a solid program for testing small spacecraft will allow future student programs to easily set standards for experiment payloads. Also by discussing obstacles for smaller programs such as restraints on funding, scheduling restrictions, and testing facility procurement, this thesis will provide a basis that other programs can use to start or expand a space research program that may be struggling due to mistakes that programs face in the early years due to the lack of experience and maturity of a veteran program.