Space-Edge 25/26

Arizona State University

• SunFlex Solar – Makes back‑contact “Sunfoil” interconnection that cuts cost and enables custom‑shaped, high‑efficiency solar panels on Earth, and is adapting this lightweight, flexible power layer to efficiently energize satellites, habitats, and in‑space manufacturing systems where every gram matters.​​

• Zwitera – Delivers long‑life, anti‑fouling water‑treatment membranes that reduce chemicals and operating costs for desalination and industrial purification, and is validating these built‑in antifouling materials for closed‑loop spacecraft life‑support and eventual membrane manufacturing in microgravity.​​

• LIDG3D – Provides ultrafast, light‑driven metal 3D printing for micro‑ and meso‑scale parts that are difficult and wasteful to make with conventional methods, and is tailoring its powderless, liquid‑metal process for high‑precision in‑space manufacturing of critical components under microgravity and vacuum.​​

• Swift Coat – Solves critical space supply-chain bottlenecks by transforming U.S.-made, off-the-shelf materials into high-performance, space-ready components using its proprietary coating technology.

• Scalable Precise Flow Crystallization – Builds a flow‑based crystallization and materials platform that integrates screening and manufacturing to improve the quality and scalability of pharmaceuticals and advanced materials on Earth, and is leveraging microgravity and ambient energy sources to enable high‑precision, resource‑efficient material production in space.​​

University of Central Florida

• Radiate3D – Retrofits existing FFF 3D printers and robotic systems with an in‑process laser heating and surface‑reflow module that upgrades polymer prints from prototype‑grade to production‑grade on Earth, and is adapting this compact print core for reliable, high‑strength, low‑touch manufacturing and repair of parts in space.​​

• Lunar MVI – Designs modular carbon‑fiber‑reinforced composite building blocks that simplify construction, integration, and lifecycle management of infrastructure on Earth, and is translating this system into lightweight, radiation‑resistant, dust‑tolerant structural modules for long‑duration lunar bases and surface systems.​​

• Smart Materials – Combines biomolecular engineering with advanced nanomanufacturing to create self‑healing, stimuli‑responsive hybrid polymers that maintain strength and functionality under stress in demanding terrestrial applications, and aims to deploy these adaptive materials as protective, self‑repairing layers for spacecraft components, wearables, and habitat systems in radiation and vacuum.​​

• Semplastics / X‑FOAM – Produces X‑FOAM, an ultra‑light, machinable ceramic foam with extreme thermal resistance, shock tolerance, and tunable radar absorption used in harsh industrial and aerospace environments on Earth, and is positioning it as multifunctional insulation, structural protection, and stealth shielding for spacecraft, re‑entry systems, and lunar infrastructure.

rice university

• LumiStrain – Develops Strain Sensing Smart Skin (S4), an ultra‑thin, transparent film that maps strain over large areas to improve structural testing and health monitoring in aircraft and civil infrastructure, and is applying this capability to continuously monitor spacecraft, station modules, and lunar infrastructure for early signs of damage.​​

• America Data Science (“Constellation Brain”) – Offers a lightweight, multi‑agent onboard AI framework that analyzes telemetry to detect anomalies and recommend actions in real time for terrestrial and orbital systems, enabling more autonomous satellites and habitats that can respond safely even when ground communications are delayed.​​

Vanderbilt University

• Blackwing Space – Builds affordable, modular nanosatellite platforms and self‑assembly kits that lower the cost and complexity of getting to orbit for commercial, research, and educational customers, and provides flexible smallsat buses the cohort can use to flight‑test new materials, sensors, and software in real space conditions.​​

• Aura Life Science – Uses photosynthetic biomanufacturing to drastically increase yields and cut costs for chemicals and bio‑based products while removing CO₂ from industrial supply chains on Earth, and is exploring microgravity and space‑enabled processes to turn light and CO₂ into high‑value bioproducts for life‑support, materials, and therapeutics off‑world.

• VibraPower – Develops adaptive vibration energy harvesters that power wireless sensors from the motion of industrial machinery, eliminating batteries in harsh and hard‑to‑reach locations on Earth, and is adapting this technology to energize maintenance‑free sensors on spacecraft, robotic systems, and lunar surface equipment where battery replacement is difficult or impossible.​​

• Generational Systems (Gene‑Sys) – Offers a safer, wire‑fed metal 3D printing system that rapidly produces near‑net‑shape parts using custom‑profile wire and an induction print head to cut cost and complexity versus powder‑based systems for industrial and defense applications, and is targeting microgravity as a natural fit for its continuous, wire‑based deposition to manufacture and repair metal components in orbit or on the Moon.​​

• AluminAiry – Develops modular aluminum‑fuel power systems that provide safe, non‑flammable, long‑shelf‑life backup and off‑grid energy with recyclable byproducts for commercial and defense users on Earth, and is exploring their use as high‑energy‑density, easily storable power sources for remote space facilities, lunar operations, and emergency power in extreme environments.