No Rocket Required

Florida’s space business has a quieter workbench in Largo. At SMARTSAT, engineers build equipment that lets other engineers test satellite communications while both feet remain firmly on the ground.

SMARTSAT is a certified small business in Pinellas County that designs and manufactures communications test equipment and other electronics for defense customers. Its satellite simulators let engineers develop and check systems without waiting for access to a live satellite. That may lack the drama of a countdown, but getting the equipment right before deployment is rather the point.

Founder and CEO Heidi Akers started the company nearly 30 years ago to address a military communications problem. Since then, its work has included more than simulation. On its customers and contracts page, SMARTSAT describes an amplifier it has designed and manufactured for the Joint Tactical Terminal system since 2010. The company makes a useful case study in how specialized electronics shops fit into Florida’s wider aerospace and defense economy: their work happens well before the public sees a finished system in action.

That work can also travel much farther than Pinellas County. According to the Florida Small Business Development Center’s account of SMARTSAT, Akers sought help from the Florida SBDC at USF to identify international customers beyond the company’s established markets. A customized export marketing plan examined potential buyers and longer-term opportunities. State Trade Expansion Program funding then helped her attend a satellite communications conference in Luxembourg.

At the conference, a technical contact from the European Space Agency approached Akers about using SMARTSAT’s system as a training tool. The introduction led to further conversations and a referral to a company in Italy. Those are prospects, rather than completed sales, but they show why an export plan matters to a small manufacturer with a highly specific product: the right customer may be difficult to find from home.

The company’s domestic reach grew this summer, too. Akers said SMARTSAT received a nearly $1 million contract award on July 7 to retrofit a satellite communications laboratory at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts.

For Florida readers, the through line is the work taking place in Largo. A small team can make equipment used far beyond its own county, provided it can find the people who need it. Sometimes the space story begins in a laboratory, with no launch scheduled at all.

Find more businesses in the Guide to Florida aerospace manufacturers directory: https://guidetoflorida.com/aerospace-manufacturers