CDT-Fort Researchers Take Part in ESA’s Global ActInSpace Hackathon
Five CDT-Fort researchers, Milad Albagul, Charles Cai, Chris Digby, Dean Froggatt and Temi Lasekan recently took part in ActInSpace, an international 24-hour innovation challenge organised by CDT-Fort partner, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the French Space Agency (CNES). The UK edition was hosted locally at the Surrey Research Park in Guildford, joining dozens of simultaneous events taking place across the globe.
ActInSpace brings together students, researchers, entrepreneurs, and space enthusiasts every two years to tackle real-world challenges set by ESA, CNES, and major industry partners such as Airbus and Thales Alenia Space. Each challenge focuses on emerging issues in the space sector, with an emphasis on transforming technical ideas into viable business concepts.
Milad Albagul and Dean Froggatt pictured with Lisa Collins, Pro Vice Chancellor, Research and Innovation at the University of Surrey
Milad, Charles, Chris, Dean and Temi formed two teams to take on a challenge centred around risk mitigation, safety, and sustainability in space operations, a growing area of concern as Earth’s orbits become increasingly congested. Over an intense 24-hour period, they worked to design an innovative solution that not only addressed the technical aspects of the problem but also demonstrated a potential pathway to commercialisation.
Team OpenOrbit Labs (Milad, Charles and Dean) developed distributed GaN AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) modules and onboard edge AI (FPGA/GPU) in space to detect and track centimetre-class orbital debris. This architecture aims to mitigate orbital collision risks by providing actionable decision support and risk scoring for constellation operators and space insurers. Their technical concept represented a novel approach to enhancing space situational awareness at a time when orbital environments are becoming more complex and hazardous.
Throughout the hackathon, the team received support and guidance from industry and academic mentors, who were available around the clock to help refine concepts, pressure-test ideas, and provide insight into the current space innovation landscape.
At the end of the competition, all teams presented their solutions to a panel of judges. While our researchers did not secure the top spot to advance to the international finals in Bordeaux, their strong performance and complementary strengths with the winning team were recognised. The judges recommended a collaboration between the two groups, and awarded Milad, Charles, and Dean’s team the local prize: six months of tailored support within SETsquared Surrey’s business incubator. This award reflects the judges’ view that the team’s concept has strong potential for development into a viable business.
Winning six months of business incubation at SETsquared Surrey, based at the Surrey Research Park, provides Team OpenOrbit Labs with access to expert entrepreneurial mentoring and resources to further develop their idea, an exciting and valuable next step beyond the hackathon.
More information about the global competition can be found on the official event website: https://actinspace.org