Disrupt Space conference bases on the results from the first European Startup Weekend Space, which was held in April 2015 in Bremen (Germany). At that event 80 people from 18 different countries in 60 hours from scratch created a business plan for a space service or product. Few months later, in October 2015, the second European Startup Weekend Space was held in Gdansk (Poland) took place. Both events resulted in creation of teams which are still developing their concepts and attempting to enter the space market.
Similarly to 2015 events, Disrupt Space gathered people and teams, who in short time had to create and develop their ideas related to the space sector. The new feature, introduced this year, was the presentation of existing small companies from the space sector, which have the potential to become disruptive to the market. All together, the organisers of the Disrupt Space have selected twenty such companies. Among them there was Polish company Blue Dot Solutions.
During the first day of the Disrupt Space conference these companies were presenting their achievements and plans in front of “Decision Makers”. The jury of the “Decision Makers” was composed of representatives from several space agencies, including ESA and NASA, as well as European Commission, investment group and big companies from the space sector. The task for the “Decision Makers” was to select five finalists, which would present their profiles during the second day of Disrupt Space.
The “Decision Makers” selected five companies: two planning to construct small orbital launchers, one related to mining from asteroids, one focusing on improvement of planning in space projects and Blue Dot Solutions. In comparison to these other selected four companies, Blue Dot Solutions is the only one focusing on using satellite data for applications on Earth. The remaining four are related to the upstream branch of the space sector.
Our idea combines satellite navigation and ground sensors for operations at airports. The idea is currently at prototype stage and within the next months first tests should begin.
It is a great distinction for Blue Dot Solutions to be nominated as one of most interesting startups in the space sector. Becoming a finalist at Disrupt Space confirms that space sector becomes more widespread and its applications can enter various markets.
Source: Blue Dot Solutions
Photo © Blue Dot Solutions