TC Sessions: Space is happening next week (December 16-17), and as well as talking to some of the biggest names in the industry, we’ll be highlighting a few of the most interesting startups as well. Kayhan Space aims to coordinate the increasingly crowded lower orbits, and Firehawk Aerospace has a new approach to rocketry that could lead to far more inexpensive launches.
We had Firehawk on stage (virtually) at Disrupt to compete in the Startup Battlefield, where they were among the finalists. The chief advance of the company is taking the concept of hybrid rockets and supercharging it with 3D-printed fuel. Instead of a reservoir of liquid, solid, or a combination of fuels, Firehawk prints the solid fuel with a “highly engineered internal structure” that makes it both more reliable and more powerful. It also simplifies the engine itself, which only has 12 parts.
More from the TC Sessions: Space agenda
Will Edwards is CEO and co-founder of Firehawk, and this is his first aerospace company — he went to law school then worked in the software and HR industries before meeting his co-founder and CTO, Ronald Jones. They formed Firehawk and are currently assembling a 5,000 LBF thrust engine to be tested at Stennis Space Center.
Kayhan Space is a data-based endeavor, the brainchild of Iranian childhood friends Araz Feyzi and Siamak Hesar. Kayhan, which came through Techstars’ virtual accelerator, aims to be nothing less than air traffic control for space. Satellites are proliferating, of course, and the next few years will see thousands more added to the crowd. How are they all tracked, and how will companies and organizations using different systems know if their satellites are in danger of colliding or otherwise interfering with each other?
Feyzi, Kayhan’s CTO, will talk with us about Kayhan’s approach to tracking satellites and how they aim to break into a market that is just now beginning to take off. With $600K in pre-seed funding, they’re just getting started as well.
In order to hear from these experts, you’ll need to pick up your ticket to TC Sessions: Space, which will also include video on demand for all sessions, which means you won’t have to miss a minute of expert insight, tips and trend spotting from the top founders, investors, technologists, government officials and military minds across public, private and defense sectors. There are even discounts for groups, students and military/government officials.
You’ll find panel discussions, interviews, fireside chats and interactive Q&As on a range of topics: mineral exploration, global mapping of the Earth from space, deep tech software, defense capabilities, 3D-printed rockets and the future of agriculture and food technology. Don’t miss the breakout sessions dedicated to accessing grant money. Explore the event agenda now and get a jump on organizing your schedule.