Young Space Entrepreneurs Competition (YSpacE)

Stay tuned to learn more about the 2023 Young Space Entrepreneurs (YSpacE) Competition teams!

Application deadline extended to October 30 at 11:59 pm (ET)!

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Meet your YSpacE 2021 Winners

image of YSpacE winner announcement

Are you a student with an idea for a space startup?

YSpacE is Canada’s only business plan competition with a focus on the space sector. Biennially, from November to March, students will receive knowledge and advice from experts through webinars focused on startups in the space sector, as well as feedback on their proposed business plans. We aim to empower students with the experience and confidence to target problems in the space sector, develop solutions, and turn them into profitable ideas. YSpacE accomplishes this by providing opportunities to develop a business plan for an idea for a product or service and learn from experts through webinars to refine their plans. The top teams will be invited to make their case to our judges at our annual conference.

In 2016 the winning team, Horizon (Lassonde School of Engineering, York University) was offered a spot at an accelerator to take their ideas further. In 2017, team Aether (McMaster University) proposed a network of mobile satellites that provide automated satellite maintenance and refuelling services. In 2019, Space Science Applied Education (British Columbia Institute of Technology) took the top spot with their space-related elementary and high-school education business. Team Space Debris Removal (Carleton University) from YSpacE 2019 are now Obruta, and recently won a Canadian Space Agency grant (see more about Obruta below).

Have questions? Email yspace@seds.ca.

YSpacE logo

Our handbook contains all the information participating teams/students need

Pitch Competition Prizes

3rd Place: $200

Sponsored by:

1st Place: $600

Sponsored by:

2nd Place: $400

Sponsored by:

Big thank-you to our YSpacE 2021 sponsors!

Meet your YSpacE 2021 teams!

logo for Port-L

Port-L

Port-L’s vision is to lead the space research market in technology and business development and allow rapid growth in the commercial use of the Earth’s orbit and beyond.

Port-L’s mission is to create a set of integrated payload platforms that could house various experiments and provide all necessary manipulation and data collection capabilities remotely to researchers, at an affordable price.

“The end goal of Port-L is an end-to-end service to make LEO more accessible to research. Our primary goal is to allow researchers to be able to focus solely on their research, without having to worry about the logistics and challenges of sending it space (and possibly retrieving it). To do so, we will take care of booking the launch and the ground control segment but most importantly, we will make a payload that is able to automate research processes. In order to reach this end goal, Port-L will develop two products to build its brand and gain revenue to expand the business. Port-L’s first product offering will be specialized hardware on the ISS to automate pipetting. Port-L’s second product will be a chemical analyzer.”

Team members include: Charles Sirois, Kaitlyn Lee, Kuthan Celebi 

Tridacna

Tridacna’s mission is to provide safe, effective, and environmentally-friendly radiation shielding options capable of protecting individuals and sensitive cargo on and off Earth, as well as in low Earth orbit.

Tridacna’s vision is to produce world-leading, practical radiation shielding options that are not lead nor polyethylene-based, for use by space agencies, organizations, and companies developing technologies and textiles primarily intended for use in space. Tridacna is particularly focused on the development of shielding options that can be reproduced in situ, exactly where they are needed, as opposed to requiring transportation to site.

“The dangers of space radiation, to people and sensitive electronics alike, is one of the most challenging issues faced by the space industry to date; as humanity transitions towards more frequent and long-term space travel, this danger remains one the most important problems to solve. Current solutions include the use of significant amounts of either dense, toxic lead or polyethylene; but these options are not sustainable long-term due to their bulk and cost. Tridacna’s product was inspired by mycosporines and mycosporine-like amino acids; UV-protectant molecules produced by the Tridacna genus, as well as other animals and bacteria evolved to live in high-volume sunlight environments. Through diligent research, it is Tridacna’s hope our alternative will be lighter, more economical, and even reproducible in-situ, making it a clear winner against other contemporary radiation-shielding options.”



Team members include: 
Joseph De Luca, Anna Olesen (pictured left to right)

logo for Tridacna

Competition timeline

Project Milestones

Participating students will become familiar with the structure and content of a business plan. Some milestones include submission of documents. All submissions should be made to yspace@seds.ca. Documents will be evaluated by SEDS-Canada and external subject matter experts throughout the completion of the business plan, and feedback will be provided. Note that the handbook may have outdated milestone dates; the dates listed here take precedence over those in the handbook.

  • 1st/2nd week of October: Team introductions and virtual meet-up; thereafter biweekly check-ins with SEDS-Canada
  • Sunday, November 27, 2022 at 11:59 pm ET: Business plan updates – Deadline 1
  • December 1, 2022: Webinar 1 with Iain Christie, the CEO of Neptec Design Group
  • Saturday, December 17, 2022 at 11:59 pm ET: Business plan updates – Deadline 2
  • Late December, 2022: Webinar 2 (topic TBD)
  • Monday, January 2m 2023 at 11:59 pm ET: Business plan updates – Deadline 3
  • Early January, 2023: Webinar (TBD)
  • Saturday, January 19, 2023 at 11:59 pm ET: Business plan updates – Deadline 4; Business plan complete!
  • Monday, January 16, 2023: Pitch competition finalists are announced!
  • Late January: Webinar (TBD)
  • January 28 at 1:30 – 2:30 pm ET: YSpacE Finals @ Canadian Space Conference 2023 (hybrid)

Judges, Mentors, and Webinar Speakers

(click for bios!)

Daniel Schulten
LaunchPad Director

MDA

Matthew Tweedy
Senior Venture Manager, Space Stream Lead
image of Lucy Stojak
Lucy Stojak
Executive Director
Annie Martin
Project Officer
Operational Space Medicine
Gary Martin
VP North American Operations
Cedric Seynat
Corporate Strategy Officer
Iain Christie
President & CEO

SideKickSixtyFive Consulting

image of John Clarke
John D. Clarke
Ryan Anderson
President & CEO

YSpacE participants will

YSpacE Objectives:

- Flex your creative muscles while thinking about a new product/services relevant to the Canadian space sector

- Learn about the rapidly emerging commercial space industry in Canada

- Develop key entrepreneurial skills relevant for any job in the space sector

- Learn about the key parts of a well-developed
business plan

- Build connections with professionals in relevant industries

- Gain communication & presentation skills

AND GET ACCESS TO

- exclusive webinars from industry partners

– the MaRS Entrepreneurship 101 course

- mentorship & feedback from industry partners

- CASH prizes for top teams in the Pitch Competition

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Who should i contact if i have questions about applying to YSpace ?

Shoot us an email at yspace@seds.ca. We’d be happy to help you with your application.

CAn i apply as an individual ?

Yes! You do not have to have a team, but you are encouraged to find students with expertise that would complement your own and the business.

Can i apply as a team ?

Absolutely.

Is there a limit to how many members can be on my team ?

No, however, there will have to be solid reasoning behind why each person is a part of your team. This will be a part of building your business plan.

How can i come up with a good idea for a product or service ?

Follow your interests and interview people in those sectors. Ask them what problems they face. Can you solve their problems with a product or service? If so, you got yourself a good idea! Also, check out NASA Spinoff for ideas! It details technology that NASA has transferred to commercial sectors. 

What if i don't currently have an idea for a product or service but I still want to participate in yspace?

You can still sign up to participate in YSpacE. You will be encouraged to seek out and find/create an idea for a product or service before the end of the competition!

Can i apply if i am an international student ?

Yes! Any student enrolled at a Canadian post-secondary institution can apply, regardless of citizenship or residency status.

Can i participate if i am enrolled part time ?

Yes! As long as you can provide proof of enrolment at your academic institution, you can enter into the competition.

Do you accept unofficial proof of enrolment ?

Unofficial proof of enrolment is accepted (including a picture of a student ID card showing an expiry date, a screenshot of a timetable with a name and student number, and a financial statement showing name and student number). Proof of enrolment must be included with your application.

Previous Team Feature: Obruta

Kevin Stadnyk and Kirk Hovell participated in YSpacE 2019 as Carleton University students. They created a business plan around a technology for space debris removal they were working on during their graduate studies, hence they were originally named Space Debris Removal Services. Following their participation in YSpacE, Obruta Space Solutions was founded by Kevin, Kirk and Lucas Brewster with the goal to develop novel space debris removal technologies.

Obruta’s vision: “Obruta Space Solutions envisions a future where humans sustainably occupy the orbital environment. To achieve this, Obruta is developing technology to capture and clean up high-risk space debris which poses a threat to satellites and humans alike.”

Within a year of its foundation, Obruta was awarded financial support by the Canadian Space Agency through the Space Technology Development Program for a Novel Multi-Target Space Debris Removal Technology Feasibility Study.

You can read more about Obruta’s work and keep up with what they do next through their website here!

image of Kirk Hovell
Kirk Hovell
YSpacE 2019 Participant
image of Kevin Stadnyk
Kevin Stadnyk
YSpacE 2019 Participant

Past YSpacE Student Teams

(click for more information, where available)

2021

YSpacE LEEP logo
Leading Extra-planetary Explorationand Preparation
YSpacE Bio-ARC logo
Bio-ARC (Bio-advanced Resource Corporation)
YSpacE SpaceShield logo
SpaceShield
YSpacE TimeSULE logo
TimeSULE
YSpacE Tridacna logo
Tridacna
YSpacE Port-L logo
Port-L

Winning teams: Bio-ARC (First Place), Tridacna (Second Place), Port-L (Third Place)

2019

logo for SSAE
Space Science Applied Education
(British Columbia Institute of Technology)
logo for SDR
Space Debris Removal; now Obruta
(Carleton University)
logo for Apastron
Apastron
(University of Waterloo)

Winning team: Space Science Applied Education (British Columbia Institute of Technology)

2017

logo for Aether
Team Aether
(McMaster University)

2016

logo for Integral Technologies
Integral Technologies
(York University)
logo for Rest In Space
Rest In Space
(University of Guelph)
logo for Voyager U
Voyager U
(University of Guelph)
logo for Horizon
Horizon
(York University)

Winning team: Horizon (Lassonde School of Engineering, York University)

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