Catalyst Space Accelerator is proud to announce that one of their current cohort companies has received a $250,000 grant from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) Advanced Industries Accelerator (AIA) Grant Program.
Opterus Research and Development, Inc. is a current participant in the Catalyst Space Accelerator Resilient Commercial Space Communication Cohort, now in session at the Catalyst Campus in Colorado Springs. Headquartered in Loveland, Colorado, Opterus creates and manufactures critical components for spacecraft structures, some of which were successfully flown on eight space units in 2018. Opterus provides complete coverage from initial sketch to engineering design and simulation, prototyping and manufacturing, through testing and flight delivery.
Opterus’ proposal to OEDIT consisted of a co-funded program to enhance flight hardware manufacturing capabilities with equipment upgrades and process improvements. As a result, the company has been awarded a two-year Early Stage Capital and Retention Grant to execute the program. Grant funds will advance Opterus’ deployable antenna commercialization programs.
"The funding will prove vital to achieving our most ambitious technology development goals," said Thomas Murphey, Opterus's Chief Executive Officer. "Best of all, we're thrilled to see the State of Colorado demonstrating so much confidence in our efforts and progress."
As stated on the OEDIT website regarding Opterus, “The Aerospace Industry is shifting towards smaller satellites to reduce launch costs, driving the use of more on orbit deployment technologies to expand solar arrays, RF antennas, sails, etc. This great challenge is also an opportunity: High Strain Composites from Opterus expand by over 200x and are more reliable and lower cost than competing technologies. HSCs are stiff, yet flexible materials revolutionizing the Aerospace Industry by replacing traditional mechanisms.”
Catalyst Space Accelerator is thrilled that another participating company has received a significant monetary award to further their research. To date, since the inception of the inaugural cohort in early 2018, cohort alumni have won a total of ten Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants, an OEDIT Advanced Industries Accelerator grant in the same round as Opterus, and two alumni have won or become a subcontractor to very large contracts, one from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and one from NASA.
For more information on joining upcoming Catalyst Space Accelerator cohorts, visit https://catalystaccelerator.space/#program.
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About Catalyst Space Accelerator
The AFRL Space Vehicles Directorate Catalyst Accelerator is a Space-focused defense and national security industry accelerator. Headquartered on the Catalyst Campus, a collaborative ecosystem in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Catalyst Space Accelerator is a public-private partnership hosted by the Center for Technology, Research, and Commercialization (C-TRAC), Catalyst Campus for Technology and Innovation (CCTI), the Colorado Small Business Development Center (SBDC) TechSource, Space Capital Colorado, and the Colorado Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), in partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory to provide a robust, mentor-driven curriculum for accelerator teams. https://catalystaccelerator.space
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