Space-focused accelerator begins process for applicants

Building on its leadership of the Orbital Reef University Advisory Council, the ASU Interplanetary Initiative is excited to announce the upcoming launch of the Space-Edge Accelerator, in collaboration with Blue Origin. This multi-state program features an Arizona hub that offers a unique opportunity for Arizona’s biomedical sector to engage with and benefit from the emerging space economy.

The Space-Edge Accelerator, an innovation-focused collaboration between the University of Florida, Blue Origin, Space Foundation, the University of Central Florida, Arizona State University and Vanderbilt University, is opening applications for its inaugural program. Designed to propel businesses into the new space economy, Space-Edge offers innovators and entrepreneurs a unique opportunity to gain a competitive edge by accessing space industry experts and resources.

The global space economy is projected to exceed $1 trillion by 2040, making business opportunities in space an unprecedented entrepreneurial area. Space-Edge Accelerator will connect entrepreneurs with experts and resources that will help them develop effective space-based business strategies.

Pre-application workshops will take place online on Aug. 15 at 5:30 p.m. EDT and Aug. 29 at 2:30 p.m. EDT. Applicants are strongly encouraged to attend and must register for the workshop. If selected for the accelerator, sessions will begin Sept. 24. Applications will open Aug. 8.

The upcoming program will focus on biomedical innovations that can benefit from the space environment or contribute to the growth of the space sector. Participants will explore innovations enabled by microgravity in areas such as stem cell growth, vaccine testing, drug delivery research and tissue culture.

Rob Ferl, the University of Florida Astraeus Space Institute director and assistant vice president for UF Research, said the accelerator will support businesses ready to take the next step in their research.

“Fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration and progress, the accelerator program works to leverage the space research expertise for the broader business community,” Ferl said. “The Space-Edge Accelerator will help catalyze the knowledge base from decades of experience to help business fast-track the next great discovery.”

Participants will also explore areas of opportunity surrounding keeping humans safe and healthy in space. Those include creating medical supplies and devices, AI-driven diagnostics and telehealth solutions.

"There's immense potential for entrepreneurs to create solutions to medical challenges faced in space and on Earth by testing them in a low-gravity environment," said Erika Wagner, senior director of emerging market development at Blue Origin. "The possibilities for medical supplies, medical devices, telehealth and more are endless."

Wagner said that having research areas like microbiology in the Space-Edge Accelerator will give innovators a chance to take cutting-edge research to the next level by implementing them in business strategies that enable and are enabled by access to space.

Prospective participants can sign up via one of four university hubs: the University of Florida, Arizona State University, the University of Central Florida and Vanderbilt University. Participants must be based in Arizona to sign up with ASU, in Florida to sign up with UF or UCF and in the Mid-South region or the Tennessee Valley region to sign up with Vanderbilt University.

To learn about featured Space-Edge Accelerator instructors and the application process, visit https://www.space-edge.org/.