The University of Florida, the University of Central Florida, alongside Arizona State University and Vanderbilt University, are collaborating to launch the Space-Edge Accelerator, a 12-week course aimed at advancing space business development.

The University of Florida and the University of Central Florida, alongside two other universities nationwide, are collaborating to launch the Space-Edge Accelerator, aimed at advancing space business development.

The pair of schools, as well as Arizona State University and Vanderbilt University, will host a 12-week selective course covering biomedical innovation. The instruction serves to cultivate entrepreneurial students’ knowledge of space climate and the future of human space flight. Examples include stem cell and vaccine development, advances in precision medicine, manufacturing, creating medical equipment for microgravity, and AI and predictive analysis in space.

Each selected student will receive mentorship, working alongside a leader in the space industry to build connections and promote growth in the sector.

“The Space-Edge Accelerator program will provide companies guidance and mentorship on how to expand their space portfolio and test their products or technologies in the low-Earth-orbit environment,” said Jamie Foster, a professor of microbiology and cell science at the University of Florida.

The initiative comes as Florida’s aerospace industry expects to play host to more than 100 launches in 2024 and Amazon nears completion of a $120 million processing facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for its Kuiper internet satellite project.

The facility, expected to be fully constructed by late 2024, will be the final stop for Amazon’s Kuiper satellites before they are launched into space.

Amazon plans to ship its first batch of satellites for processing at the Florida facility in the second half of 2025. To meet regulatory requirements, the company is aiming to deploy at least half of the Kuiper satellite network into orbit by 2026.

Moreover, last December, the University of Florida allocated $2.5 million from a $10.2 million funding package to establish the UF Space Mission Institute.

According to the university, the institute will serve as a hub where experts across UF’s colleges can work together to “answer questions related to space exploration, development, and commercialization.”