Wed, Jul 15, 2009
Companies Leverage eSpace Resources To Maximize Probability Of
Business Success
If you've ever had a great idea
about something to do with spaceflight, then read on. eSpace: The
Center for Space Entrepreneurship, today unveiled the first three
companies participating in the eSpace incubator. Selected from an
applicant pool of more than 30 companies, the three participating
companies have access to eSpace resources designed to maximize the
probability of their business success.
"I've been down the road of the space company entrepreneur,"
said Scott Tibbitts, executive director for eSpace. "When I started
the space company, Starsys Research, I didn't fully understand what
I was getting into. From pricing, sourcing, regulations and beyond,
you need to know a lot more than just your technology. That's where
eSpace comes in with our contacts, experience, facilities and
funds. We know how to help build space companies. And based on the
response we've received, there are a lot of entrepreneurs out
looking to start entrepreneurial space companies."
Created with the intention to replicate eSpace centers
throughout the United States, the strong response to eSpace is
accelerating those expansion plans. eSpace is supported by the Air
Force Research Lab, and plans are already in the works for a second
center at the AFRL in New Mexico. eSpace also anticipates
additional applicants to the highly selective process of inclusion
in the incubator.
Companies that participate in the eSpace incubator enjoy an
environment that is unique in the nation for the creation and
evolution of entrepreneurial space companies. Participating
organizations can overcome the barriers to entry for space
technology companies by leveraging a suite of eSpace resources,
including physical space, financial grants, access to successful
entrepreneurs as mentors, access to investment capital, and access
to aerospace infrastructure, manufacturing facilities and
relationships.
The first group of companies invited to participate in eSpace
include"
- Zybek Advanced Products, Inc., an established engineering,
system development, and manufacturing company, is expanding its
advanced plasma business to include the production of "lunar
simulant," or synthetic moon rock, based on specifications supplied
by NASA. Immediate applications of lunar simulant include testing
the performance of landers, rovers and other equipment bound for
the moon. Future applications may include synthetic gem production
and green technologies such as ground water remediation.
- Space Awareness Services uses commercial telescopes and
specialized software to track orbital objects and provide
customized data and services to private and public sector satellite
organizations. Immediate applications include establishing timely
and accurate orbits of space debris so that operators can avoid
collisions with satellites, rockets, etc. Future applications
may include any that require knowing the precise location of
debris, satellites, rockets and other objects in space. The
importance of having this information became apparent earlier this
year, when for the first time in history, two spacecraft
unexpectedly collided, destroying both and creating thousands of
new pieces of "space junk."
- Net-Centric Design Professionals designs and develops complex
computer networks used for communications between spacecraft and
end-user organizations on Earth. With an emphasis on bringing
cyber-security into space, NDP ensures that satellite information
gets to users at the right place and in the right format to enable
timely decision making. Applications include the distribution of
space-derived information (such as satellite imagery) to
government, industry and academic users.
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