Space startup incubator funds fake moon rock, space junk-fighting

In a bid to bring what Y Combinator has done in mentoring young tech startups to the aerospace industry, a Boulder, Colorado-based space incubator called eSpace has announced its first three companies.

eSpace is backing Zybek Advanced Plasma, which makes “lunar simulant,” or synthetic moon rock, so NASA can test landers and rovers bound for the moon. It’s also funding Space Awareness Services, which designs software to track space debris so companies can avoid “space junk” when operating satellites and rockets. The last company, Net-Centric Design Professionals, creates computer networks to facilitate communication between spacecraft and their home-bases back on Earth.

Startups in the program get up to $20,000 for initial expenses along with mentorship and office space. The three companies were chosen from more than 30 applicants.

eSpace is a non-profit partnership between the University of Colorado, Boulder and the Sierra Nevada Corporation, an electronic systems provider supporting the U.S. military and NASA. The center is looking to expand its program across the country, with a possible second location in New Mexico at the Air Force Research Lab.