2022 Reef Starter Innovation Challenge

Deadline: November 4, 2022 at 8pm ET

The Reef Starter Innovation Challenge is bringing access to the microgravity environment to companies across a diverse range of technologies and industries. Learn more about this exciting new challenge!

Imagine a place that combines the best in scientific research, tourism, entertainment, and manufacturing. Now picture that vibrant ecosystem in low Earth orbit.

Welcome to Orbital Reef: Your Address, In Orbit

Orbital Reef is a commercially developed, owned, and operated space station to be built in low Earth orbit. In the second half of this decade, Orbital Reef will start operating as a mixed-use business park, providing straightforward access for all.

Reef Starter is Orbital Reef’s newest offering, established to reduce barriers of entry for startups to become users of Orbital Reef. The goal of the Reef Starter Innovation Challenge is to identify startup organizations that could benefit from operations in LEO, particularly those that hold promise for improving the lives and world for those on Terra Firma below.

From materials science to agriculture, entertainment to pharma, and medical devices to tourism, Reef Starter is interested in a diverse range of startup organizations from around the globe.

Could your business or product make exponential leaps ahead with time in microgravity? If so, consider submitting your application for the Reef Starter Innovation Challenge today!

Why Microgravity?

Why would anyone want to do anything in LEO?
Because unique environments mean unique opportunities.

Just as certain plants are only found in one place on the planet and nowhere else, access to a microgravity environment provides unique opportunities not available on Planet Earth.

Operations in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) means changes in gravity, pressure, and radiation. Consequently, there are changes in convection, buoyancy, sedimentation, and surface tension. These, in turn, result in new possibilities for various manufacturing processes such as:

  • In additive manufacturing: 3D printers aren’t limited to printing in a single orientation or direction
  • In agriculture: space-grown plants may help future long-term space missions as well as provide insight into new agricultural technologies to increase yields back on earth
  • In electronics: newer, smaller semiconductors may be possible, leading to increases in performance or reductions in energy consumption
  • In pharmaceuticals: cells behave differently away from normal earth gravity, which could impact how new medicines are developed

Gravity is constantly imposed in all that we do. With that restriction removed, an infinite amount of yet to be discovered breakthroughs are unlocked.

Due to the unique environment of microgravity, processes such as crystal growth, heat transfer, fluid mixing, solidification, and combustion experience unique effects that can provide useful insights for cutting edge solutions to benefit humanity and Earth.

In short, access to LEO means new opportunities for innovations and advancements in a wide range of technologies and industries.

By offering this exciting opportunity, Reef Starter is providing incentives to innovators to consider how their industry and application might benefit from access to LEO. Reef Starter is interested in all industries that envision new and different opportunities and innovations that could be possible with access to microgravity.

Timeline

Sep 22: Challenge Opens

Oct 6: Webinar (1 pm EST)

Oct 19: Office Hours 1 (11 am EST)

Nov 1: Office Hours 2 (3 pm EST)

Nov 4: Submissions Close (8 pm EST)

Nov 17: Pitch Day

Dec 6: Winners Announced

Guidelines

The Reef Starter Innovation Challenge is intended to kickstart a broad array of commercial operations in low Earth orbit (LEO). This exciting new challenge from Orbital Reef is primarily geared towards startup organizations, at any stage of development or commercialization, though corporations of any size are welcome to respond.

Potential industries and applications of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Agriculture/Agronomy
  • Advertising
  • Entertainment
  • Materials Science
  • Pharmaceutical development
  • Manufacturing including additive manufacturing
  • Biochemistry
  • Human Physiology
  • Textiles
  • Electronics
  • Quantum technologies

Terrestrial end-use should be the primary focus of any proposed technology or business. Proposals focused on innovations for a space operations hub including assembly, refueling, and maintenance are welcome but are not the primary focus of this Challenge.

HOW TO ENTER

To participate in the Reef Starter Innovation Challenge, interested respondents must submit a response via the online response form prior to the submission deadline of November 4, 2022 by 8pm EST. Responses must include only non-confidential, non-proprietary content.

The online response form gives you the opportunity to tell Orbital Reef about the exciting innovations you think are possible for your technology with access to microgravity.

To learn more, check out the other sections of this Challenge page, refer to our webinar, or contact us.

AWARDS

Reef Starter will invite up to twenty-five (25) highly rated respondents to participate in the Reef Starter Pitch Event to be held in November 2022. At these sessions, respondents will pitch their technology to a broad array of Orbital Reef representatives from business development to science and more.

From the list of finalists, up to 3 presenters will be awarded up to $100,000.

Reef Starter will also present Innovation Awards of up to $25,000 for innovative startups and research efforts at the pre-seed/concept stage that are ready to take their first step towards commercial development.

Furthermore, Reef Starter will provide winners with a broad range of post-challenge supports, as determined by the needs of the respondent. Examples of potential support include access to workshops and introductions to the broader Orbital Reef network.

Advanced Technology International (ATI), the parent company of TechConnect, will also introduce finalists to representatives from the various consortia it manages. The ATI consortia are responsible for facilitating billions of dollars of government spending on technology needs, across a wide range of technology domains. To learn more about the consortia, please visit the ATI Collaboration page.

Additionally, all finalists will be awarded a fully paid registration for the TechConnect World Conference 2023, to be held in National Harbor, Maryland (travel and lodging not included).

Evaluation

All eligible responses to the Challenge will be evaluated according to the following metrics:

  • Description of benefits from access to LEO: 20 points
  • Commercialization plan for creating a long-term sustainable offering: 20 points
  • Engaging description of proposed technology: 15 points
  • Considerations for launch-readiness: 10 points
  • Innovation: 10 points
  • Proposal clarity: 10 points
  • Technical maturity: 10 points
  • Consideration for long-term engagement with Orbital Reef: 5 points

The top eligible respondents will be invited to a virtual pitch event to be held November 17, 2022. Pitch presentations will be evaluated according to the following metrics:

  • Clear communication of how Orbital Reef will impact success of the technology: 15 points
  • Clear vision of how to execute their development plan: 15 points
  • Uniqueness of proposed technology: 10 points
  • Overall delivery of presentation: 10 points

For the pitch event, finalists will be asked to present for a total of 5 minutes followed by a 5-minute Q&A session from the judges.

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