If you’ve watched our YouTube channel, then you’re already familiar with our Staff Software Engineer Clay Ito! And now many more in the aerospace industry are going to recognize him now that he’s been selected as one of the 2026 Payload Pioneers! 

This list highlights 30 people under 30 who are helping shape the future of the space industry. We couldn’t be more proud of Clay’s achievements in this space, especially with his work on OpenC3 COSMOS. Everyone at OpenC3 is congratulating Clay on this impressive honor. 

From witnessing a satellite launch during his very first week as an aerospace intern to building open-source mission software today, Clay’s focus at OpenC3 has always been clear: help space companies skip the "tinkering" so they can put their resources where it matters most. 

As employee number 5, Clay plays a vital role in advancing COSMOS, empowering space companies to streamline testing, operations, and software standardization so engineering teams can stop reinventing the wheel and focus on their core mission priorities.

OpenC3 CTO Jason Thomas said, “Clay is the engineer every company dreams of having. He is a talented self-starter who fully owns projects from concept to final delivery, while always making time for code changes, code reviews, and directly supporting our customers.”

Read the full article on Payload: Payload Pioneers 2026 Clay Ito Profile.

Catch the latest from Clay:

• New Notifications Plugin Connects COSMOS to Slack, Discord, PagerDuty, Twilio, and More
• OpenC3 COSMOS and Hale Working Together to Improve Satellite Lifespan, Efficiency, and Value
• Talk to Me, COSMOS! Your COSMOS AI Assistant Has Entered the Chat

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