Three tech startups emerged victorious from the most recent Hyperspace Challenge cohort.
The challenge, which helps entrepreneurs make inroads with government agencies, is a six-week program designed to advance space technologies for the military. The winning pitches came after two months of collaboration between the finalists and government agencies.
The winning startups include:
- Varda Space Industries Inc. (Torrance, California) — a company trying to advance zero-gravity manufacturing capabilities
- SCOUT (Alexandria, Virginia) — a developer of technology allowing spacecraft to address the presence of other objects nearby while in flight
- Neutron Star Systems USA Corp. (Cologne, Germany) — a developer of electric propulsion technology based on superconductors
A total of 13 startups and 11 university teams were selected for the cohort, according to a Dec. 2 news release. The winners were part of an accelerator that began in September containing startups and university teams that participated in the 2021 Discovery Sessions webinar series.
During the series, the participants met with government customers to explore the relevance of their technology to government mission needs. The participants could then apply to the accelerator.
The Hyperspace Challenge, which launched in 2018, is put on by CNM Ingenuity and the Air Force Research Laboratory, according to the release. The program is part of SpaceWERX, which leverages partnerships between officials from the military, academia and private industry as part of the U.S. Space Force.
