SmallSat 2026 Round-up: Showcasing Smart Secure Space in Salt Lake City
- 20 hours ago
- 3 min read
Craft Prospect has wrapped up a busy and productive week at SmallSat 2026 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Kevin Quillien, Lucy Donnell, and Hina Khan spent the 4-day conference sharing our latest work across onboard autonomy, quantum technologies, secure communications, and mission capability, while connecting with organisations from across the global small satellite sector.
Showcasing OPS-SAT VOLT with Bright Ascension
The week began with a joint demo with Bright Ascension, showcasing OPS-SAT VOLT QKD and RCSS services and exploring how Bright Ascension’s HELIX platform can be adapted to solve real-world industry challenges.
The demo prompted valuable conversations around onboard space weather alerts, forward-looking mission capabilities, and the future of quantum key distribution in space.
AI for autonomous satellite operations
On Tuesday 25th August, Lucy Donnell presented AI for Autonomous Operation of Small Satellite Missions as part of the Enterprise Sessions in the Grand Ballroom.
The session shared work being delivered by Craft Prospect and GMV through an ESA-funded advanced avionics demonstrator focused on enhancing onboard autonomy for small satellite missions.
Lucy discussed two key autonomy applications: responsive mission planning and scheduling, and Fault Detection, Isolation and Recovery (FDIR). These capabilities are being developed against a real mission scenario, OPS-SAT VOLT, which brings together optical communications, quantum key distribution, and hyperspectral imaging.
The talk was well attended and sparked plenty of follow-up conversations at the Craft Prospect stand.
Quantum technologies in orbit
Also on Tuesday, Kevin Quillien presented Craft Prospect’s poster, The Quantum CubeSat: A Perspective for Quantum Technology in Orbit.
The poster explored near-term quantum technologies for small satellite platforms, including quantum key distribution, entanglement-based systems, quantum sensing, and the design trade-offs involved in deploying these capabilities on CubeSat missions such as OPS-SAT VOLT.
The session generated strong engagement and helped open up further discussion around QKD systems and practical routes toward quantum capability in orbit.
Robust guidance for close proximity operations
On Wednesday 26th August, Lucy presented Craft Prospect’s second poster, Robust Learning-Based Guidance for Close Proximity Operation Scenarios.
The poster shared work with the University of Glasgow on machine learning for robust trajectory planning, tested in representative hardware-in-the-loop simulations for rendezvous and proximity operations.
The session generated valuable conversations around optimal close proximity trajectory planning for dynamic and uncertain scenarios, as well as the future role of autonomy in space operations.
Scotland Day with Scottish Development International
It was also great to take part in Scottish Development International’s Scotland Day activities at SmallSat 2026.
Kevin represented Craft Prospect during the event, delivering a Rapid Orbital Talk and taking part in the Scottish Company Pitching Session. Both sessions provided an opportunity to share more about Craft Prospect’s technologies, products, services, and wider mission to deliver Smart Secure Space.
A big thank you to Scottish Development International for organising the session and spotlighting the incredible work happening across Scotland’s space industry.
Conversations across the space sector
Across the week, the team had valuable meetings and conversations with organisations from across the space community, including Unibap Space Solutions, Xplore, Simera Sense, Cailabs, KP Labs, Setanta Space, Synspective, CONTEC, Aurora Engineering, Zenode, Mitsubishi Electric, Archangel Lightworks, Look Up, SSTL, Zyphos, and Spherical.
The week was a valuable chance for Craft Prospect to share our latest progress, hear from others working at the forefront of the sector, and continue building connections around the technologies shaping the future of small satellite missions.
A sincere thank you to the SmallSat organisers and the city of Salt Lake City for hosting another outstanding conference and bringing together so many opportunities for innovation, collaboration, and growth across the global space industry.
