A Week of Small Satellites, Told by the People Who Build Them

I think of a crow dropping stones into a pot, one at a time, until the water rises enough to drink. Small, steady actions, building toward something useful. That is what comes to mind reading about SmallSat 2026 — a week where people share, piece by piece, what they have learned about building and flying small spacecraft.

NASA has confirmed it will join the event in the Exhibit Hall, at booths 635, 835, 641, and 940, with NASA experts giving talks through the week. The agenda opens Monday, August 24, from 9:00 to 10:00 AM, with a welcome from Jose Nunez, followed by sessions on smallsat numbers for 2026 from Fletcher Franklin, supply chain observations from Bruce Yost, technology shortfalls from Rudy de Rosee, early science from the SPARCS camera with Kaitlyn Ashcroft, a JPL talk called Skyfall from Tim Canham, and a session on the SWIFT LINK reboost from Bo Naasz.

If you have ever watched a small satellite cross the night sky from here in Asia, this is the kind of gathering where the people who build and launch them compare notes. For the full agenda and details, read it at NASA.