AMSTERDAM — With the European space sector undergoing a structural shift toward security and autonomy, organizers of SmallSat Europe 2026 have issued a final call for technical papers. The deadline for abstract submissions is January 23, 2026, leaving engineers and researchers less than two weeks to propose presentations for the continent’s largest dedicated small satellite conference.
The event, scheduled for May 26–28, 2026, at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre, is projected to host more than 2,500 attendees, doubling the participation of the 2025 edition. The expansion reflects the region’s urgent focus on dual-use capabilities and sovereign infrastructure, a theme that has replaced the theoretical commercial discussions of previous years with hard requirements for resilience and rapid deployment.
From Theory to Requirements The 2026 technical agenda highlights the engineering challenges inherent in Europe’s new strategic posture. Key solicitation topics include sovereign connectivity architectures, underpinned by the EU’s IRIS² program, as well as alternative positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) systems independent of GPS.
This pivot aligns with the recently established EU Space Defence Track, a partnership designed to address the integration of commercial technology into military frameworks. Organizers are specifically seeking papers that address defense-civil fusion architectures, cybersecurity for contested environments, and on-orbit AI for threat detection.
Submission Guidelines Technical papers will be presented during 15-minute oral sessions or poster displays and published in the official conference proceedings. The program committee has emphasized a preference for active engineering results over marketing-driven concepts.
- Systems Design: Integration of sovereign payloads and secure buses.
- Ground Segment: Architectures supporting multi-orbit constellations (LEO/MEO).
- Operations: Autonomy and data processing in high-latency or denied environments.
Timeline and Deadlines
- Abstract Deadline: January 23, 2026
- Acceptance Notification: February 20, 2026
- Final Paper Due: April 30, 2026
- Conference Dates: May 26–28, 2026
Submissions can be made directly via the SmallSat Europe website.