The demand for global connectivity and ubiquitous access is driving grand endeavors throughout both the public and private space sectors. The proliferated mission architectures needed to support commercially-motivated markets such as broadband communications and remote sensing are becoming increasingly intertwined with missions in support of civil and national security space applications.

As historic barriers to creating large-scale interconnected constellations continue to be overcome through advances in small satellite technologies and launch and ground systems, the emergence of new hybrid architectures are now being envisioned as part of the evolving space ecosystem. Selecting the appropriate architecture, or successfully orchestrating a combination of architectures, is a critical step toward implementing a system that fulfills mission requirements and objectives. Such an effort is becoming an increasingly complex art as there are seemingly infinite solutions. Adding to this complexity is the expectation that most, if not all, missions support security, information assurance, and interoperability.

The 34th Annual Small Satellite Conference will explore the realm of possible space mission architectures and how they can be practically achieved to support the diverse needs of the global space community.