SmallSats are having a moment. They are generally smaller and cheaper and can support more frequent launches with quicker response times for urgent national security needs; they support proliferated and resilient architectures that can withstand system failures and adversarial attacks; they facilitate innovation through experimentation, development, and testing; and they are increasingly accessible to an array of users, from small companies to universities to economically developing countries.

You know that feeling; when you hear a presentation or have a sidebar discussion at a professional conference and a lightbulb goes off: you realize that this expert or organization has solved the work problem that you’ve been trying to tackle for two months (or two years). They’ve endured the same struggle and found the piece to the puzzle through research and development, information sharing, or other means of collaboration that could put you farther along the path to mission success.

My internship experience at The Aerospace Corporation was eye-opening and highly fruitful. This summer, I was fortunate enough to work on two projects that will provide me the experience and knowledge needed to be successful in my career after academia...