IDRS at SmallSat conference 2026

The IDRS team joined the global small satellite community in Salt Lake City, Utah, to exhibit at the 40th Annual Small Satellite Conference, held from 23–26 August 2026. 

During the conference, Addvalue and Viasat announced an agreement to bring IDRS to U.S. Government customers through Viasat’s HaloNet managed service.

The agreement creates U.S. Government opportunities, combining IDRS terminals, airtime, integration and mission support into one U.S-delivered offering.

Later in the week, IDRS took to the stage for a Flash Talk, “A Proposed Hybrid System Composed of Free-Space Optical Data Relay, Complemented by RF L-band Inter-Satellite Data Relay.” The session explored how combining high-capacity Free-Space Optical (FSO) communications with resilient RF L-band inter-satellite data relay could support increasingly data-intensive applications, from real-time Earth observation and climate monitoring to defence, intelligence and disaster response.

Throughout the event, the team met with satellite operators, manufacturers and industry partners to discuss the growing need for reliable, resilient and near real-time connectivity as satellite missions and constellations continue to expand.

Take a look at some of the highlights from SmallSat 2026.