This site requires JavaScript in order to function properly. Please enable it for the best experience.
Small Satellite Conference

Previous Winners

2025 Winners

2025 Student Competition Winners

1st Place ($5,000 each)
Benjamin Nero, Jeremy Hawke – UTIAS Space Flight Laboratory

2nd Place ($7,500)
Saksham Jain – Space Flight Laboratory

3rd Place ($5,000)
Erik Lewerenz – Technical University Braunschweig/Berlin Space Technologies

Honorable Mention ($3,000)
Melanie Phillips – Queen’s University

Honorable Mention ($2,000 each)
Lucien Hammond, Rachel Swan – Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Honorable Mention ($2,000 each)
Emese Kovács, Bartlomiej Koszek – KU Leuven

2024 Winners

1st Place ($10,000): Anant Telikicherla – University of Alberta
2nd Place ($7,500): Alexandre Florio – Space Flight Laboratory
3rd Place ($5,000): Edward Zhang – University of Washington
Honorable Mention ($3,000): Carter Hyndman – Queen’s University
Honorable Mention ($3,000): Bartlomiej Koszek – KU Leuven University
Honorable Mention ($3,000): Ganesh Danke, Rajiv Iyer – Northeastern University

2023 Winners

1st Place ($10,000): Abigail Lee – Queen's University
2nd Place ($7,500): Alex Meredith – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
3rd Place ($5,000): Kentaro Taniguchi – Waseda University; Miwa Tsurumi - Aoyama Gakuin University; Ryusei Komatsu – The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI
Honorable Mention ($3,000 each): Mason Starr – Georgia Institute of Technology
Honorable Mention ($3,000): Willard Farmer – Space Flight Laboratory
Honorable Mention ($3,000): Mark Polyakov, Edward Zhang, Karen Haining – University of Washington

2022 Winners

1st Place ($10,000): Atilla Saadat – University of Toronto
2nd Place ($7,500): Sobia Nadeem – McMaster University
3rd Place ($5,000): Sophia Vlahakis – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Honorable Mention ($1,500 each): Kevin Guan, Eric van Velzen – University of Toronto
Honorable Mention ($2,500): Dillan McDonald – Georgia Tech
Honorable Mention ($2,500): Natalia Piotrowski – Technical University of Munich

2021 Winners

1st Place ($10,000): Jason Powell – Utah State University
2nd Place ($3,750 each): Luciana Schement, Caroline Dixon – University of Colorado Boulder
3rd Place ($5,000): Christine Page – University of Idaho
Honorable Mention ($2,500): Carlos Carrasquillo – University of Florida
Honorable Mention ($2,500): Narottama Esser – University of Florida
Honorable Mention ($850 each): George Zhang, Aaron Flowers, Saleem Ali – US Military Academy at West Point

2020 Winners

1st Place ($10,000): Rachel Morgan – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2nd Place ($3,750 each): Kyle Craft, Grant Hecht – Missouri University of Science
3rd Place ($5,000): Philip Hampton – University of Toronto
Honorable Mention ($850 each): Madeleine Schroeder, Christopher Womack, Amelia Gagnon – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Honorable Mention ($2,500): Michael Wilson – University of Michigan
Honorable Mention ($850 each): Niklas Wendel, Tilman Hoffbauer, Louisa Gerhard – University of Applied Sciences Aachen

2019 Winners

1st Place ($10,000): Robin Aucoin – University of Toronto
2nd Place ($7,500): Aaron Aboaf, Nicholas Renninger, Lara Lufkin – University of Colorado Boulder
3rd Place ($5,000): Alexander Reynolds – Missouri University of Science and Technology
Honorable Mention ($3,000): Fatak Borhani, Niranjan Ravichandra – University at Buffalo
Honorable Mention ($3,000): Sarthak Srivastava, Anant Kandala, Glenn Gacal – Nanyang Technological University
Honorable Mention ($3,000): Noah Acosta – University of Hawaii at Manoa

2018 Winners

1st Place ($10,000): Robert Magner – University of Toronto
2nd Place ($3,750): Nathan Cole – University of Toronto
2nd Place ($3,750): Starla Talbot – University of Toronto
3rd Place ($5,000): Christian Haughwout – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Honorable Mention ($2,500): Jennifer Gubner – Wellesley College
Honorable Mention ($2,500): Mandar Phadnis – University of Colorado, Boulder
Honorable Mention ($2,500): Nicholas DiGregorio – University at Buffalo

2017 Winners

1st Place ($5,000): Julian Brown – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1st PLace ($5,000): Keaton Stubis – Johns Hopkins University
2nd Place ($7,500): Rachel Morgan – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
3rd Place ($2,000): Frank Rutherford – University of Florida
3rd Place ($2,000): Erica Jenson – University of Florida
3rd Place ($2,000): Kieran Wilson – University of Florida
Honorable Mention ($1,250): Victor Hernandez – Arizona State University
Honorable Mention ($1,250): Aaditya Ravindran – Arizona State University
Honorable Mention ($1,250): Bradyn Morton – Missouri University of Science and Technology
Honorable Mention ($1,250): Shannah Withrow-Maser – Missouri University of Science and Technology
Honorable Mention ($2,500): Andrew Tennenbaum – The State University of New York at Buffalo

2016 Winners

1st Place ($10.000): Kareem Omar – University of Alabama in Huntsville
2nd Place ($7,500): Seamus Lombardo – University at Buffalo
2nd Place ($7,500): Elias Solorzano – University of Toronto
3rd Place ($5,000): Jim Clark – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Honorable Mention ($2,500): Ariel Sandberg – University of Michigan
Honorable Mention ($2,500): Christine Gerbara – Georgia Institute of Technology

2015 Winners

1st Place ($10,000): Josh Newman – University of Toronto
2nd Place ($7,500): Kathleen Riesing – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2nd Place ($7,500): Christian Fuchs – Technical University Munich
3rd Place ($5,000): Tam Nguyen – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Honorable Mention ($2,500 each): Adam Snow, Angela Den Boer, Luke Alexander – Georgia Institute of Technology
Honorable Mention ($2,500): Sanny Omar – Auburn University

2014 Winners

1st Place ($10,000): Sreeja Nag – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2nd Place ($7,500): Iverson Bell – University of Michigan
3rd Place ($5,000): John Hwang – University of Michigan
Honorable Mention ($2,500 each): Jeremy Castaing – University of Michigan; Thomas Sears – University of Toronto; Tam Nguyen – Massachusetts Institute of Technology

2013 Winners

1st Place ($10,000): John Springmann – University of Michigan
2nd Place ($7,500): Keith LeGrand – Missouri University of Science and Technology
3rd Place ($2,500): Levi Malott – Missouri University of Science and Technology
3rd Place ($2,500): Pasha Palangpour – Missouri University of Science and Technology
Honorable Mention ($2,500 each): Noam Leiter – Technion-Israel Institute of Technology; Sreeja Nag – Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Sanny Omar – Auburn University

2012 Winners

1st Place ($10,000): Luke Walker – Georgia Institute of Technology
2nd Place ($3,750): Ved Chirayath – Stanford University
2nd Place ($3,750): Brian Mahlstedt – Stanford University
3rd Place ($2,500): Lauren Blum – University of Colorado
3rd Place ($2,500): Quintin Schiller – University of Colorado
Honorable Mention ($1,500 each): Philipp Reiss – Technische Universitat Munchen; Samir Rawashdeh – University of Kentucky; Takayuki Hosonuma – University of Tokyo

2011 Winners

1st Place ($10,000): John Springmann – University of Michigan
2nd Place ($7,500): Erik Babcock – University of Illinois
2nd Place ($7,500): Tursunjan Yasin – Utah State University
3rd Place ($5,000): Charlotte Lücking – University of Strathclyde
Honorable Mention ($1,500 each): Kevin Schillo and Christopher Valle – University of Central Florida; Samir Rawashdeh, University of Kentucky

2010 Winners

1st Place ($10,000): Ryan Pahl and Christopher Tutza – Missouri University of Science and Technology
2nd Place ($7,500): David Gerhardt – University of Colorado, Boulder
3rd Place ($6,500): Quintin Schiller and Abhishek Mahendrakumar – University of Colorado, Boulder
Honorable Mention ($2,000 each): Nasir Adeli, Surrey Space Centre – University of Surrey; Jeffrey Boulware, Erik Stromberg – Utah State University

2009 Winners

1st Place ($10,000): Marcin Pilinski – University of Colorado, Boulder
2nd Place ($7,000): Forrest Rogers-Marcovitz – Carnegie Mellon University
2nd Place ($7,000): Bruce Davis – University of Colorado, Boulder
3rd Place ($3,000): Jeffrey Boulware – Utah State University, Logan,Utah
Honorable Mention ($1,500 each): Mahmoud Mahmoud, Justin Koeln – Utah State University

2008 Winners

1st Place ($10,000): Ryan Hoffmann – Utah State University
1st Place ($10,000): Daniel Kwon – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2nd Place ($5,000): Rashied Amini – Washington University in St. Louis
3rd Place ($3,000): Takaya Inamori – University of Tokyo
Honorable Mention ($1,500 each): Marit Meyer – Washington University in St. Louis; Tyson Smith – Utah State University

2007 Winners

1st Place ($10,000): Michael Dancer, Jason Searcy – University of Missouri – Rolla
2nd Place ($7,500): Patrick Jolley – Utah State University
3rd Place ($6,000): Erin Beck – Washington University in St. Louis
Honorable Mention ($2,500 each): Forrest Rogers-Marcovitz – Washington University in St. Louis; Phelps Williams – Santa Clara University; Junichi Nishida, Yoshihiro Tsubuku – Tokyo Institute of Technology; Scott Jensen – Utah State University

2006 Winners

1st Place ($10,000): David Bamber – University of Surrey
2nd Place ($8,000): Jeremy Neubauer – Washington University in St. Louis
3rd Place ($6,000): Andrew Strange – Taylor University
Honorable Mention ($2,000 each): Joshua Zapf – Purdue School of Engineering & Technology; Kgabo Mathapo – University of Stellenbosch; Jared Clements, Josh George – Utah State University

2005 Winners

1st Place ($10,000): Aaron Dando – Queensland University of Technology
2nd Place ($8,500): Eric Caillibot, C. Cordell Grant, Daniel Kekez – University of Toronto
3rd Place ($5,500): Shaun Stewart, Greg Holt – The University of Texas at Austin
Honorable Mention ($2,000 each): Dante Buckley, Thomas Cowen, James Van Pelt II – University of Florida – Erik Henrikcon - Arizona State University – Shazia Maqbool - University of Surrey

2004 Winners

1st Place ($10,000): Ryan Angilly – Worcester Polytechnic Institute
2nd Place ($7,500): Joel Quincieu – Utah State University
3rd Place ($5,500): Chris Rampersad – University of Toronto
3rd Place ($5,500): Robert Weyer – University of Stellenbosch
Honorable Mention ($3,000 each): Jung-Kuo Tu, Shi-Hua Wu, Chen-Chi Chu – National Cheng Kung University;
Peter Cipollo, Brendan Surrusco – Pennsylvania State University

2003 Winners

1st Place ($9,000 donated back to fund): Fred Kennedy – University of Surrey
2nd Place ($7,000): Jeremy S. Neubauer – Washington University in St. Louis
3rd Place ($5,000): Patrick Shriver – University of Colorado at Boulder
Honorable Mention ($2,000 each): John Crowley, Virgil Hutchinson, Alex Keisner, Dave Young – Georgia Institute of Technology
Honorable Mention ($2,000 each): Kyle Doerksen, Jean-Francois Levesque, Ignacio Mas – Stanford University
Honorable Mention ($2,000 each): E. T. Sæther, J. Otterstad, K. M. Fauske, O. E. N. Eriksen, F. M. Indergaard, A.G. Riise, B. C. H. Samuelsen, N. Sokolova – Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Narvik University College
Honorable Mention ($2,000): Klaus Krogsgaard – Technical University of Denmark
Alternate ($1,500): Valerie F. Mistoco, Robert D. Siegel, Brendan S. Surrusco, and Erika Mendoza – Pennsylvania State University

2002 Winners

1st Place ($8,000): Jake Schaffner – California Polytechnic State University
2nd Place ($5,000): Todd Humphreys – Utah State University
3rd Place ($3,000): Vaios Lappas – University of Surrey
Honorable Mention ($1,000 each): James Wells, Luke Stras, Tiger Jeans – University of Toronto; Kyle Ressler – Washington University in St. Louis; Jan Hales & Martin Pedersen – Technical University of Denmark
Alternate ($500): Blake Moffitt – Utah State University

2001 Winners

1st Place ($7,000): Brian Shucker – University of Arizona
2nd Place ($5,000): Anuradha Chandrasekaran, James Gutshall – Utah State University
3rd Place ($3,000): Eric Morrow – University of Toronto
4th Place ($2,000): Hans Carlson, Meredith Fitzpatrick – University of Texas at Austin
Honorable Mention ($1,000 each): Elizabeth Butt – Washington University; James Gutshall, Anu Chandrasekaran – Utah State University

2000 Winners

1st Place ($7,000): Rachel Haines – University of Birmingham (UK)
2nd Place ($5,000): David Meller – University of Washington; Kristin Makoveck – Virginia Tech; Prapat Sripruetkiat – Utah State University
3rd Place ($3,000): John Jensen – Utah State University
4th Place ($2,000): Hans Carlson – Arizona State University; Yosuke Nakamura – Kyushu University
Honorable Mention ($1,000 each): James Cutler, Gregory Hutchins – Stanford University; Badri Shirgur, Derek Shannon – University of Central Florida

1999 Winners

1st Place ($6,000): Barry Goeree, Brian Shucker – University of Arizona
2nd Place ($5,000): Amy Slaughterbeck – Santa Clara University
3rd Place ($3,000): Derek Shannon, Chrishma Singh-Derewa, Sanjay Jayaram – University of Central Florida
4th Place ($2,000): Joyce Wong – Arizona State University
Honorable Mention ($1,000 each): Brian Engberg, Freddy Pranajaya – Stanford University

1998 Winners

1st Place ($6,000): Johan Carlson, Roy Gladden – Utah State University
2nd Place ($5,000): Jeffrey Lin, Francisco Soriano, Michelle Schoenman – San Jose State University
3rd Place ($3,000): Christopher Kitts – Stanford University
4th Place ($2,000): John O'Boyle, Pascal Stang, Nick Woods – Santa Clara University
Honorable Mentions ($500 each): Nicholas Seet – Harvey Mudd College; Christopher Lewicki – University of Arizona

1997 Winners

1st Place ($4,000): Shea Ferring, David Waller – Arizona State University
2nd Place ($3,000): Ellen Riddle, Jennifer Owens – University of Colorado at Boulder
2nd Place ($3,000): Allison Floyd – Stanford University
3rd Place ($2,000): Carlos Guadimos, Brian Menges – San Jose State University

1996 Winners

1st Place ($4,000): Dino Milani – University of New Hampshire
2nd Place ($3,000): Rick Lu – Stanford University
3rd Place ($1,500): Ellen Riddle – University of Colorado
3rd Place ($1,500): Scott Jensen – Utah State University
Honorable Mention ($500): Christopher Kitts, Michael Swartwout – Stanford University

1995 Winners

1st Place ($3,000): Charles Hewett – Arizona State University
2nd Place ($2,000): Alison Nordt – Stanford University
3rd Place ($1,000): Brian Engberg, Jeff Ota, Jason Suchman – Stanford University
4th Place ($1,000): Steve Lynch, Glenn Forrest – University of New Hampshire

1994 Winners

1st Place ($2,500): Charles Hewett – Arizona State University
2nd Place ($2,000): Lilac Muller – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Honorable Mention: Christopher Kitts, William Kim – Stanford University
Honorable Mention: Minghu Lu, Keshi Chen – Iowa State University

1993 Winners

1st Place ($3,000): Darby Cooper, Sean Olin – Iowa State University
2nd Place ($2,000): Brenda Paul – Brigham Young University; Robert Jacobs, Kathryn Chevalier – Utah State University; Kathleen Blizard – Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University