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Mission Operations & Autonomy

Operations and data delivery at the speed of light

Small satellites have been a key enabler for new space missions and proliferated architectures that are being developed in response to the driving demands of commercial markets and government equities. The scale and complexity of these missions push the limits of classical command and control, while requirements for increased knowledge product timeliness drive innovative approaches to data delivery.

To provide these operational capabilities with confidence, a host of new mission operations approaches, and integrated onboard autonomy are under development. They will enable information delivery and knowledge exchange without the historical delays associated with terrestrial relays, human-in-the-loop decision making, and ground-based processing. Instead, they will integrate new elements using AI/ML, secure mesh networking, and more sophisticated onboard processing to deliver knowledge products to users at the speed of light.

The 35th Annual Small Satellite Conference will explore the realm of the possible in new space mission operations and autonomy enablers that will drive the speed of information exchange.

Weekend Technical Sessions

Education and Academia: Research Programs, Lessons Learned, Tutorials

Coordinating Successful Educational Programs

A review of previous/ongoing efforts to train engineers and scientists using small satellite programs, with an emphasis on lessons learned that benefit the broader community.

Year in Review – Education and Academia

A review of educational missions launched in the past 18 months with an emphasis on lessons learned and technological advancements that significantly enhanced mission utility.

Next on the Pad – Education and Academia

A preview of educational missions scheduled to fly within the next 18 months with an emphasis on scientific and/or technological purpose of the mission.

Mission Operations & Autonomy

Innovative technologies or full-up systems (hardware/software) for ground networks, mission operations centers and/or approaches to autonomy that significantly advance mission utility of NanoSat or smaller systems.

Strength in Numbers

A review of current or envisioned constellations, clusters, or swarms that use NanoSats or smaller systems to successfully perform their mission.

Advanced Concepts

Innovative technologies (hardware/software) that provide significant advancements in NanoSat class or smaller missions.