Slovenian team wins 8th Cassini hackathon
Maribor, 2 December - The Slovenian SpaceGuardian team has won first place at the European final of the 8th international Cassini hackathon, which this year focused on strengthening Europe's security and defence capabilities with the use of European space technologies.
They earned victory with their SpaceGuardian orbital security management platform, Tovarna Podjemov, a startup incubator, has announced.
The platform uses advanced predictive algorithms to monitor the trajectory of satellites, predict collision risks and automatically calculate, simulate and perform the best manoeuvres.
These measures favours fuel economy, reduce the risk of collisions and maintain long-term operational performance, thus extending the lifespan of satellites and reducing the amount of space debris to ensure a safer and more sustainable orbital environment.
The startup incubator will reward the team with a EUR 1,000 prize, a special business development package and tickets for the participation in the PODIM 2025 startup conference.
The main organisers of the event will add 100 hours of mentoring support for the further development of the idea and an additional prize of EUR 5,000.
The Cassini hackathon is hosted by the European Commission to encourage students and other individuals to develop innovative technological solutions and business models for various challenges under the mentorship of experts.
As many as 165 teams worked on ideas in the latest hackathon, with only ten competing in the European finals, which took place on 27 November.
This is a second win for Slovenian innovators at the Cassini hackathon, coming after a project that uses the analysis of satellite images to detect forest areas at risk of woodpeckers emerged victorious in 2022.