CU Boulder grads launch startups to change the future of aerospace

Building a startup business is intense, and for a number of University of Colorado Boulder aerospace graduates, they would not have it any other way.

Front Range是一个 公认的中心 for startups and technology firms; earlier this year, the CU system was honored as fifth in the nation for startup creation. With the state’s major aerospace presence, it is no surprise that many startups are aerospace-oriented.

创业世界

“From our experiences doing research at CU Boulder we developed an appetite for solving difficult problems with uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) and the tools to develop that into a career,” said Jack Elston (ElCompEngr’03, MS’05, AeroEngr MS’07 PhD’11), CEO of Black Swift Technologies.

该公司, which he co-founded with Maciej Stachura (AeroEngr PhD'13), began in Elston’s living room. 今天, Black Swift designs purpose-built aerial platforms for scientific research in extreme environments — think hurricanes and inside the mouth of volcanoes.

The business is one of a half dozen founded by graduates from the 安和H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences over the last 15 years, according to professor and chair 专员Hanspeter他 who notes CU Boulder and the larger Boulder community’s status as entrepreneurial hubs.

“We have classes on engineering management, there is nearby venture capital funding, and faculty have spinoff companies; students see all that,Schaub说. “There were no startups when I was going through school. 当时, there wasn’t this idea that you could start an aerospace company with two or three people.”

Ishaan Patel (MAeroEngr’18) knows the traditional aerospace path well. He spent time at two longstanding large firms and NASA before co-founding 在轨航天, which is developing uncrewed reentry vehicles and orbital utility stations to enable lower-cost in-space manufacturing and research infrastructure.

“In Orbit finally gave me an opportunity where I saw all of my research interests integrated into one core vision,帕特尔说. “Although running a start-up can feel like a rollercoaster, it’s exciting to be able to work on something I am truly passionate about in the NewSpace economy.”

商业教育

凯瑟琳·温盖特, an aerospace teaching assistant professor, said the department’s academic program provides tools important for engineers who plan to follow a typical career path or strike out on their own.

“We teach a lot of things people do in startups, like the iterative process and prototyping, and we follow the standard Systems V development lifecycle,温盖特说. “A startup is a higher risk, but it’s a quicker way to change the industry. If you like the idea of being your own boss and being in control, it’s exciting.”

Bradley Cheetham (MAeroEngr’11) understands that risk and reward as co-founder of 先进的空间.

“Starting a business sounds exciting, 几乎性感, but the reality is that it takes so much mental fortitude,奇塔姆说. “We started as a group of three working in a loft in my condo. If you can lean into the hard times and allow yourself to grow with the company, 它变得很有趣. Being challenged in different ways can be exciting if you are open to the diversity of challenges that arise daily.”

先进的空间 is developing technology to enable sustainable exploration, development and settlement of space. In 2022, it launched the successful CAPSTONE satellite, which is orbiting the Moon.

Cheetham’s partner and fellow 先进的空间 co-founder, Dr. Jeff Parker (MAeroEngr’03, PhD’07) said being careful and intentional about growing as a business has helped them go from three people in 2011 to 56 employees today.

“We love what we do, and 先进的空间 lets us do it,” Parker said. “We have fully intended this company to be built to be a multi-generational company: something that will outlast anyone here. How often do you get the opportunity to help define interplanetary missions, test out new navigation technologies, and inspire engineers all at the same time?”