UK-based space services company Astrosat has partnered with Huntsville / Madison County Chamber in the US to launch a new business innovation competition to create a proposal to enable the Dream Chaser spacecraft for commercial applications.

The Sierra Nevada-developed Dream Chaser is a reusable automated cargo lifting-body spaceplane and has already participated in various cargo and crew delivery missions to the International Space Station (ISS).

The latest Astrosat prize is a part of Space Exploration Masters competition, which was formally announced last month and is open to international start-ups, entrepreneurs, researchers, university teams and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

“The judges of the new business innovation category will be looking for original thinking, rooted in good commercial sense, and with an eye for detail and imagination that will make the space sector even stronger."

The competition will close on 8 September and the winner will receive €10,000 of business analysis from Astrosat.

Huntsville Chamber will also provide food, travel and lodging worth up to €10,000 to fund the winner’s arranged meetings with several global aerospace and technology companies.

Astrosat CEO Steve Lee said: “The opportunities in the space-as-a-service sector at the moment represent the kind of chances I would have bitten your hand off when I was first starting Astrosat.

“Competitions like Space Exploration Masters are a fantastic calling card for those who see their future in space.

“Rather than the usual tried-and-tested EO challenge, the judges of the new business innovation category will be looking for original thinking, rooted in good commercial sense, and with an eye for detail and imagination that will make the space sector even stronger.”

European Space Agency, Airbus, Merck and others are involved as sponsors of the business innovation competition.