“This year we want to make the most of the experience from the first edition and take the ESA BIC Liftoff Challenge one step further. While last year only applicants aged 18 to 35 could compete, this year we have removed the upper age limit because good ideas don’t come from just one generation. At the same time, we have significantly increased the financial reward from last year’s CZK 100,000 to CZK 150,000,” said Adéla Boráňová, Programme Manager of ESA BIC Czech Republic at the CzechInvest agency.
The competition is open to individuals or teams of up to five members over the age of 18. The condition for participation is an idea with business potential and a so-called space connection. This means that the business idea must have a demonstrable and meaningful link to space technology or the space sector.
The submitted project must clearly demonstrate that the use of space technology is necessary to solve the problem and brings technical, economic or other added value compared to solutions without space technology. At the same time, it must be more than a conventional or standard application – some innovative element is expected. It is also a prerequisite that the necessary data, technology or services are realistically available.
The competition is now open to projects that want to help find their link to the space sector. In fact, participants can initially consult their ideas with experts before submitting their application to find out together how to effectively link them to the space technology sector.
Registration will open on 1 March 2026 and will run until 31 May 2026. Entries can be submitted on the ESA BIC Liftoff Challenge website .
In the first round, participants will submit a brief description of the project in the form of a lean canvas. The most promising ideas will advance to the second round, where teams will develop the concept into a business plan with the support of expert mentors. The best proposals will compete before an expert jury in the final round, which will take place during Czech Space Week – the largest festival of space activities in the Czech Republic from 2 to 8 November 2026.
The authors of the three winning projects will receive a financial reward to further develop their business plans. The winner will receive CZK 80,000 and the opportunity to present the idea to investors at the ESA BIC Launchpad 2026 event . The second most interesting project will be supported with CZK 50,000 and the third with CZK 20,000.
Awarded innovators can continue to collaborate with the ESA BIC Czech Republic team after the competition and further develop their ideas so that they can apply for incubation in this programme in the future and turn their visions into real projects and thriving companies.
From student idea to real application
The first edition of the ESA BIC Liftoff Challenge took place in 2025 and produced a number of interesting projects. The winner was the YSpace team from Brno University of Technology with an innovative antenna design for CubeSats and a vision for its use on satellite missions.
“I would recommend the competition to anyone who has a space idea in their drawer at home that they would like to take a step further or turn into a business. Mentoring on preparing business plans and short presentations to investors gave me valuable experience for the future, while my colleagues and I worked on further development throughout the competition and got to the final testing stage, which was eventually paid for by winning the first year. In addition to valuable experience and financial support, we have established contacts with people from the Czech startup environment, which are inspiring and beneficial for us for future projects,” added Eliška Ivanovová from the YSpace team.
About ESA BIC Czech Republic
The ESA BIC Czech Republic incubator was established in 2016 with the support of the CzechInvest Agency for Enterprise and Investment Promotion, the JIC Innovation Agency, the European Space Agency, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, the City of Prague and the South Moravian Region. This year, the ESA BIC Czech Republic incubator will celebrate ten years of operation in the Czech Republic.
Over the course of its existence, it has supported more than 70 startups that have taken their technologies to market, established international partnerships, or secured additional investment. Many of them are now active internationally and contribute to the reputation of the Czech space sector in Europe and beyond. Examples of startups that have successfully built on their incubation include Dronetag, Zaitra, Festka and Spacemanic.
Source: CzechInvest
PR Manager and Spokesperson, CzechInvest
+420 724 591 667 zdenek.vesecky@czechinvest.gov.czSimilar news
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