Space Entrepreneurs – NewSpace Chicago

NASA iTech Recap

November 27, 2019 November 27, 2019News

Thanks to the NASA iTech team for bringing Ignite the Night to TechNexus in Chicago last November 14th. It was a great event with over 150 people attending. Eight companies pitched their technologies and all were very strong competitors. There were three from the NewSpace Chicago community: Orbital Transports, Stofiel Aerospace and Xenesis. Congratulations to Stofiel for taking first place in the competition! We are very pleased to present videos of all the presentations below.

Event Thu 11/14: NASA iTech Ignite the Night CHICAGO

October 24, 2019 October 29, 2019Events

UPDATE: the deadline for submitting your idea to Ignite the Night CHICAGO has been extended to Monday, November 4th! Are you an entrepreneur developing a technology that is addressing a real-world problem? Have you thought about how that technology may also be a potential solution for some of NASA’s challenges? NewSpace Chicago, in collaboration with NASA iTech, presents a very special opportunity for you to pitch your idea to NASA at Ignite the Night CHICAGO! …

Investing in the New Space Race

September 2, 2019 September 3, 2019Events, News

Register Now Use Function Ticket NewSpace Chicago is excited to help pass on the word about an upcoming event hosted by the CFA Society Chicago. The CFA Society Chicago is one of the oldest investment analyst groups in the United States, and they’re hosting “Investing in the New Space Race.” The focus on Mars and the Asteroid Belt feels similar to the first space race, but the race to build constellations of cheap, low…

Event Tue 9/10: Stofiel Aerospace 3D Printed Rockets to Orbit

July 7, 2019 August 12, 2019Events

Save the date for the first event of our Fall Speaker series, with Alex Smith, COO of Stofiel Aerospace. With rockets that are 3D printed and scalable to payloads, Stofiel offers a practical, cost effective option for the on-demand launches of small satellite payloads. Last time Stofiel Aerospace came to NewSpace Chicago, we were treated to a test firing of their 3D-printed solid fuel rocket engine in the parking lot! This time we look forward…

Event Thu 6/13: 4th Planet Logistics

May 29, 2019 May 29, 2019Events

Join us for a discussion with noted explorer, adventurer and CEO of 4th Planet Logistics, Michael Chalmer Dunn. His company is developing technologies for creating habitats from naturally occurring terrestrial lava tubes analogous to the Moon and Mars in order to allow humans to find a new home in the future. Michael will discuss the history and validation for using subterranean location as a practical and cost effective approach to the establishment of continuously crewed…

Event Thu 5/9: Property Rights in Outer Space: A Startup’s Voyage

April 25, 2019 April 25, 2019Events

Join a discussion between an attorney and a hypothetical space startup with a business model to collect abandoned objects in Low Earth Orbit and mine local asteroids for exotic minerals. Can a business extract minerals from celestial bodies? Can abandoned objects in space be retrieved for the valuable metals remaining in the “space junk”? Attorney Charles Lee Mudd Jr. will maneuver the NewSpace audience through these issues and more in the context of advising a…

Event Thu 4/11 UPDATED: Creating Value in the NewSpace Industry

March 25, 2019 April 10, 2019Events

Charles Mudd will be unable to join us Thursday evening due to inclement weather. In his place, Aaron Pagel will present on creating value in the NewSpace industry. There are a lot of effective ways to approach strategy and sometimes the most common way is by following the example of other successful companies. But is that the most efficient method when blazing a completely new path into a largely untouched NewSpace economy? Aaron Pagel will…

Applications Open for NewSpace Chicago Fellowship to Founder Institute Spring 2019 Session

March 6, 2019 March 21, 2019News

NewSpace Chicago is excited to announce that the Founder Institute, the world’s premier pre-seed accelerator, is offering the best applicants with space-technology ideas a NewSpace Chicago fellowship to their Chicago Spring 2019 session. Through this offer, anyone with a space-tech idea or company can apply to the Founder Institute for free, and the best overall applicant for the Chicago Spring 2019 program will receive a fellowship to participate in the world-renowned startup launch program for…

Event Thu 3/7: Trends in the NewSpace Industry

February 28, 2019 March 6, 2019Events

NewSpace Chicago welcomes Sean Casey of Atlas Space Operations. During his presentation, he’ll detail the current trends and possible future state of the industry with a focus on cost-effective and reliable data and communications services. Sean Casey was recently named the new Vice President (VP) of business development for Atlas Space Operations. Casey brings more than 25 years of leadership experience and subject-matter-expertise. He is also a principal at the investment banking merger and acquisitions…

Event Thu 1/10: Xenesis… a Midwest space start-up story

December 28, 2018 March 6, 2019Events

At this event Mark LaPenna will take us behind the scenes for the genesis moment of Xenesis, its mission, its business and its pivot…from there, the problems encountered, the trials faced and the success they’ve achieved. Mark LaPenna is the Founder and CEO of Xenesis, an optical communications company, whose mission is to deliver the World’s first, Global Multi-Layered Optical Mesh Network. Since attending Space Camp at the age of 9, Mark LaPenna has had…