NASA’s SmallSat 2026 Agenda Is Here: 4 Booths, Dozens of Talks, and the Next Generation of Missions

Logan, Utah, Source :

Small satellites have outgrown the lab. At SmallSat 2026, NASA will show how far these missions have come and where they are headed next. From August 24 to 26, the agency will take over four booths and run dozens of talks in Logan, Utah. For anyone building, launching, or operating small spacecraft, this is the week to be paying attention.

The event opens on Monday, August 24, with a wide view of the industry. Jose Nunez starts the welcome, BryceTech follows with "Smallsats by the Numbers: 2026," and Bruce Yost and Rudy de Rosee dive into supply chain trends and technology gaps. It is a useful session for anyone trying to see where the small satellite market is strong and where the next round of investment is needed.

Then the mission stories take over. The SPARCS team will talk about the camera on its astrophysics CubeSat and the early science coming from low mass stars. JPL will introduce Skyfall, a demonstration effort built on speed. Bo Naasz will explain SWIFT LINK Reboost and how it handles orbital maneuvers for tiny satellites. Anh Nguyen will walk through NASA's Flight Opportunities program, including the hosted orbital ecosystem, foundational robotics work, and the Space Roboticist Challenge.

Launch access is always a big draw. Caley Burke will compare rideshare and dedicated launch options through NASA's Launch Services Program. Norman Phelps will break down the CubeSat Launch Initiative and VADR contracts. Wednesday morning, Danielle McCulloch moderates a panel with NASA's CLPS team and rideshare experts to show how commercial missions can bring science to the Moon and beyond.

The deeper science sessions come in the afternoon. ESCAPADE, a pair of small spacecraft headed to Mars, will be a featured Heliophysics highlight. Skyler Kleinschmidt will present the TRACERS mission, and Carson Schubert will discuss how SunRISE uses distributed radio telescopes to gather more science. On the Earth side, Benji Donitz will introduce INCUS, a constellation designed to track convective storms and the water moving through them. These are active missions with real data beginning to flow.

Tuesday is about funding and commercialization. Aly Mendoza-Hill will review solicitations from NASA's Science Mission Directorate. Maggie Yancey will cover the STMD CATALYST program and NASA's I-Corps training. Ryszard Pisarski will explain how SBIR and STTR programs help small businesses bring research into space ready products. Jose Nunez will close things out with a focus on technology transfer. If you have been wondering how to work with NASA, this is a good place to start.

One part of the agenda worth extra attention is "Science as a Service." Beth Weinstein will describe what small satellite providers need to know about delivering data and science outcomes to NASA. In this model, commercial partners take on the job of supplying results. That opens up opportunities for companies built around operations, analytics, and complete mission services.

NASA's technology showcase will also include the R5 Spacecraft Series, the DiskSat flat panel satellite, CAPSTONE 02 for lunar exploration, and HIAD for advanced payload recovery. Small satellites are already part of lunar and deep space work. The CLPS collaboration regularly sends instruments to the Moon on commercial landers, and CAPSTONE 02 keeps pushing CubeSat pathfinder work. With Mars class missions like ESCAPADE on the way, it is clear that small spacecraft belong far beyond low Earth orbit.

For industry attendees, the practical side matters just as much. Lauri Newman and the CARA team will cover collision avoidance and conjunction assessment best practices. With thousands of satellites being planned, space traffic coordination is part of daily operations now. NASA's presence at SmallSat 2026 will reflect that, with safety, procurement, and infrastructure sharing the spotlight with new science.

The full agenda offers something for everyone in the small satellite ecosystem. Builders, operators, launch brokers, and science teams can all find a reason to be in Logan. NASA has made its direction clear, and the opportunities to connect with the people behind those decisions are right there at SmallSat 2026.