Winners of the 2021 COSMIC Pitch Competition at the Space Sector Market Conference

CAMBRIDGE, MA—Draper and AUVSI New England recognize the importance of small business owners, academics, investors, government leaders and entrepreneurs in the space community. In 2021, in an effort to foster economic growth and innovation in civil, commercial and defense space, Draper and AUVSI New England designed the COSMIC Pitch Competition to give entrepreneurs a chance to present their business plans and ideas in a constructive, fun and friendly forum—and potentially win money to help them establish or expand their business.

The COSMIC Pitch Competition served as the culmination of the recent Space Sector Market Conference. The competition was open to the public and “anyone who has big ideas on how to reinvent the way we utilize space, manage our space assets, or exploit features found only in space to improve our lives on Earth,” according to the website.

The winner was MicroR Systems and the student winner was I of Horus. Finalists were Exodus Orbitals, Ironstar Engineering, Multi-Axis, POLUS, SafeOrbit, SpaceDrones, Spatiam Corporation and Vestibular Stimulation.

Judging the competition were technology investors and business executives. They include Meagan Crawford of SpaceFund, Orin Hoffman of The Engine and David LoBosco of In-Q-Tel. The ‘COSMIC’ in the pitch competition stands for Cultivating Outstanding Space Market Innovation and Collaboration.

The winning team will receive a prize of $10,000. Additionally, cash prizes will be awarded to the top student team and all runners-up.

The Space Sector Market Conference was hosted by AUVSI New England, and it was founded by a group of organizations across market sectors in space business, including Draper, MIT AeroAstro, 9.8 Capital, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, STR and Xplore.

About AUVSI

AUVSI is the world’s largest nonprofit organization devoted exclusively to advancing the unmanned systems and robotics community. With members from government organizations, industry and academia, the AUVSI fosters, develops, and promotes unmanned systems and robotic technologies. AUVSI provides opportunities for information exchange, networking and business development and is the best resource for simply learning about unmanned systems and robotics or for staying abreast of the latest program and technology updates.

AUVSI New England

The New England Chapter of AUVSI is growing and developing the local community in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. There are many ways to get involved beginning with membership with AUVSI and affiliating with the New England Chapter. Membership will provide you and companies in New England with opportunities to network, get involved with committees and events, and to support the growth of unmanned systems in New England.

https://auvsinewengland.org/

Released October 7, 2021

I of Horus was the student winner of the COSMIC Pitch Competition, which took place at the inaugural Space Sector Market Conference. L-R: Dan Erkel and Thomas G. Roberts of I of Horus. Credit: Draper
Dustin Martin and John Jost at Space Spector Market conference.
Dustin Martin of Draper congratulates John Jost of MicroR Systems as the winner of the COSMIC Pitch Competition during the Space Sector Market Conference. Credit: Draper
Dustin Martin congratulates Marco Peterson as a finalist at the COSMIC Pitch Competition.
Dustin Martin of Draper congratulates Marco Peterson of SpaceDrones as a finalist at the COSMIC Pitch Competition during the Space Sector Market Conference. Credit: Draper.
Dustin Martin congratulates Axel Garcia as a finalist at the COSMIC Pitch Competition.
Dustin Martin of Draper congratulates Axel Garcia of SafeOrbit as a finalist at the COSMIC Pitch Competition during the Space Sector Market Conference. Credit: Draper.
Dustin Martin congratulates Alberto Montilla as a finalist at the COSMIC Pitch Competition.
Dustin Martin of Draper congratulates Alberto Montilla of Spatiam Corporation as a finalist at the COSMIC Pitch Competition during the Space Sector Market Conference. Credit: Draper.
Dustin Martin congratulates Ironstar Engineering as a finalist at the COSMIC Pitch Competition.
Dustin Martin of Draper congratulates Ironstar Engineering as a finalist at the COSMIC Pitch Competition during the Space Sector Market Conference. L-R are John Dargin III, of Ironstar; Martin; and Endri Lesha, also of Ironstar. Credit: Draper
I of Horus was the student winner of the COSMIC Pitch Competition, which took place at the inaugural Space Sector Market Conference. L-R: Dan Erkel and Thomas G. Roberts of I of Horus. Credit: Draper
I of Horus was the student winner of the COSMIC Pitch Competition, which took place at the inaugural Space Sector Market Conference. L-R: Dan Erkel and Thomas G. Roberts of I of Horus. Credit: Draper
Dustin Martin of Draper congratulates John Jost of MicroR Systems as the winner of the COSMIC Pitch Competition during the Space Sector Market Conference. Credit: Draper
Dustin Martin of Draper congratulates John Jost of MicroR Systems as the winner of the COSMIC Pitch Competition during the Space Sector Market Conference. Credit: Draper
Dustin Martin of Draper congratulates Marco Peterson of SpaceDrones as a finalist at the COSMIC Pitch Competition during the Space Sector Market Conference. Credit: Draper.
Dustin Martin of Draper congratulates Marco Peterson of SpaceDrones as a finalist at the COSMIC Pitch Competition during the Space Sector Market Conference. Credit: Draper.
Dustin Martin of Draper congratulates Axel Garcia of SafeOrbit as a finalist at the COSMIC Pitch Competition during the Space Sector Market Conference. Credit: Draper.
Dustin Martin of Draper congratulates Axel Garcia of SafeOrbit as a finalist at the COSMIC Pitch Competition during the Space Sector Market Conference. Credit: Draper.
Dustin Martin of Draper congratulates Alberto Montilla of Spatiam Corporation as a finalist at the COSMIC Pitch Competition during the Space Sector Market Conference. Credit: Draper.
Dustin Martin of Draper congratulates Alberto Montilla of Spatiam Corporation as a finalist at the COSMIC Pitch Competition during the Space Sector Market Conference. Credit: Draper.
Dustin Martin of Draper congratulates Ironstar Engineering as a finalist at the COSMIC Pitch Competition during the Space Sector Market Conference. L-R are John Dargin III, of Ironstar; Martin; and Endri Lesha, also of Ironstar. Credit: Draper
Dustin Martin of Draper congratulates Ironstar Engineering as a finalist at the COSMIC Pitch Competition during the Space Sector Market Conference. L-R are John Dargin III, of Ironstar; Martin; and Endri Lesha, also of Ironstar. Credit: Draper