Online event April 27: SpaceTech for business takes off

Retinal implants, 3D-printed human livers, stem cells to repair heart muscles, a space-based Amazon Web Services server and a weather control system to generate artificial rain on Mars are just some of the new technologies being tested in orbit high above the Earth by Axiom Space, the only company currently contracted by NASA to launch private missions to the International Space Station (ISS).

Freed from the pressures of Earth’s gravity, human tissue can be 3D printed in much larger sizes and thicknesses. “Our payload customers are developing technologies to print lobes of livers, or kidneys, or lungs, and bring that tissue back down to earth for implantation,” says Amir Blachman, chief investment officer of Axiom Space.

The company is preparing for its second private mission to the space station and recently unveiled a new spacesuit it designed for NASA astronauts to return to the Moon in 2025. With the International Space Station due to be decommissioned by 2031, Axiom Space has won the contract to build the world’s first commercial space station that will serve as a permanent home to develop space-based technologies and expand microgravity research.

Blachman will be among the guests speaking at ‘SpaceTech: Growing at Light Speed – Startups Demo Sci-Fi Tech’ hosted by OurCrowd online on April 27, where he will talk about Axiom Space’s role in helping to boost the private sector in space.

“All sorts of interesting businesses are enabled once you release them from the limitations of gravity,” Blachman explains. “We are very excited about the payloads on Ax-2, our next mission, both because they push humanity forward from a scientific perspective but also because every mission opens up a whole new market for on-orbit research and manufacturing.”

Other speakers on April 27 include Joe Laurienti, the CEO of Ursa Major, which is 3D printing rocket engines faster and cheaper than conventional technology, and Dan Wallman, a Partner at Balerion Ventures which invests in space technology startups.

Closer to home, Edgybees uses artificial intelligence to bridge the gap between images and data from satellites, sensors, drones and other sources to provide mission-critical information for emergency services and pilots.

“Commercial satellite data can be off by more than 50 meters,” says Dr. Shay Har-Noy, CEO of Edgybees. “This breaks all sorts of things.”

Edgybees can show soldiers, intelligence analysts, and emergency responders real time overlays of geospatial information allowing for real-time decision making. The artificial intelligence enables Edgybees to correct overhead imagery and align it with rich vector data in 150 milliseconds, giving pilots and other users pinpoint accurate information.

“We help align satellite imagery and overhead data to the true location on the Earth. We have an augmented reality engine and because we’ve locked the imagery down to the Earth, we can now overlay foundational data that helps make better decisions in real time,” Har-Noy says.

“We get beat up by the pilots if we slow down their feeds, so every frame needs to be locked in real time. That’s the secret sauce – the resilience of the AI to various conditions on the ground, the accuracy – and the speed at which we do it – is something that’s groundbreaking in the industry,” he adds.

‘SpaceTech: Growing at Light Speed’ will be hosted online by Allie Feuerstein of OurCrowd on April 27. To join the livestream or play on demand, click HERE.