Stardust 2026
Monday 2 and Tuesday 3 November 2026
Two days of talks, panels, a career fair and poster sessions, the finale of the Stardust Challenge, and the Stardust Awards. In the room in Seattle, or on the stream from anywhere. Free with a Stardust account, open to anyone, at any age.
Main event sponsor: Club for the Future, Blue Origin's foundation
What happens
Stardust 2026 is our flagship event. Nobody needs a flight or a visa to be part of it: every main-stage session is streamed, and the room in Seattle is for those who can make it.
Talks and panels
People who fly, build and study spaceflight, on the main stage both days.
The Challenge finale
Teams from the Stardust Challenge present their abstracts and posters themselves, and on day two the judges sit down with the winning teams on what won and why.
Career fair
Both days, in person. Read what each organisation does and what they are hiring for, and send a private message without speaking up in front of anyone.
Poster sessions
Accepted abstracts on the floor as posters, with their authors beside them.
The Stardust Awards
The evening of day two: the awards reception at The Rainier Club, Seattle. Open bar and hors d'oeuvres.
The stream
Every main-stage session, live and worldwide, with the chat open. Recordings follow for members.
Agenda
Times are PST (Seattle), with your own time zone beside each one.
Monday 2 November
Tuesday 3 November
Conference venue: Seattle, TBA. Awards reception: The Rainier Club, Seattle. Full programme.
Speakers
Confirmed speakers. More to come.
Dr. Olav Krigolson
Professor, Theoretical and Applied Neuroscience Laboratory, University of Victoria
Taylour Mills
STEAM Advisor, SEDS
Danny Jaques
Creator and Chief Salsanaut, Danny's Rocket Ranch
Paola Rodríguez
CEO, Neko Aerospace Engineering
David Bavaresco
President and Chief Aerospace Engineer, Neko Aerospace Engineering
Jason Michaud
CEO and Founder, Stardust Inc.
Host
Abstracts
The call is open until 12 October 2026. Propose a talk or a poster: research, a project, a build, a programme that worked. Accepted abstracts are presented in the poster sessions or on the main stage, and listed here.
Submit an abstractYou need a free Stardust account to submit, so we can reach you with the decision. Challenge teams submit their Challenge entry separately, through the Challenge; entries close 12 October.
Accepted abstracts
The Challenge finale
Stardust 2026 is where the Stardust Challenge 2026 ends: 50 teams from 24 countries are registered so far, 8 entries are in, and the teams present their own work on the main stage. Registration for teams closes 30 September; entries close 12 October.
Partners and organisations taking part
Main event sponsor: Club for the Future, Blue Origin's foundation. These organisations are part of Stardust 2026, at the career fair and on the programme. Read what each does and what they are hiring for, and message them privately from the programme page.
Sponsor Stardust 2026
Put your name on the next generation. Two days in Seattle, a worldwide stream, the Challenge finale and the Stardust Awards: there is a place for a brand at every level, and every dollar buys places for young people on Odyssey at the same price anybody pays.
Galactic Partner
from $200,000
Presenting sponsor of Stardust 2026. Your name with the event on every page, the stream, the reception and the awards. A keynote slot, first choice of a Challenge category to name, a booth at the front of the career fair, and a table at the awards reception.
Mission Partner
from $50,000
A panel of your own on the main stage, a named Challenge category with a brief from your industry, a career-fair booth, judges and mentors in the room with the finalists, and your logo on the stream.
Launch Supporter
from $25,000
A career-fair booth and a workshop or session, your logo on the event page and the stream, and a place on the judging or mentoring bench.
Explorer Ally
from $10,000
Scholarship places for young people, a booth at the career fair, and your logo on the event page.
Community Contributor
from $5,000
Your logo on the event page, the stream credits, student materials and the welcome pack.
In-kind Sponsor
recognised at value
Travel, hotel rooms, AV, print, food and drink, merchandise, media, volunteer time. Credited at the level its value matches.
Sponsor one thing
Sponsor a panel
Your name on one main-stage panel, both in the room and on the stream, with a seat on it if you want one.
The career fair
Presenting sponsor of both career-fair days: the floor, the signage, the first booth.
The awards reception
The evening at The Rainier Club in your name: the bar, the welcome, a word from the stage.
The stream
Your logo on the worldwide stream for two days, the pre-roll, and the recordings after.
The swag
The bag every attendee carries home, and what is in it: your item beside ours.
Student travel
Bring a finalist team to Seattle who could not otherwise come. Flights, rooms, a badge with your name on it.
A Stardust Award
One of the eleven awards presented on the night, in your name, handed over by you.
A Challenge category
Name one of the eight categories and set its brief from your industry. Teams worldwide build against it.
Scholarship places
Ten young people
$1,000
10 places at $100 each for a year. A classroom-sized group, a year of Stardust Plus each, and a report you can put in front of your board.
A cohort of fifty
$5,000
50 places at $100 each for a year. Enough to run a country programme, or to name a Stardust Challenge category as its sponsor.
One hundred places
$10,000
100 places at $100 each for a year. What Club for the Future funded. It reached young people on four continents and is still being reported on.
Ten Pathway places
$10,000
10 places at $1,000 each for a year. The mentored tier: for a sponsor who wants depth with a small number of young people rather than reach.
In-kind support is welcome at every level and recognised at its value: travel, hotel rooms, AV, print, food, merchandise, media. Invoiced, never marked up. Multi-year and a named Challenge category are both possible.
Be there
On the stream
Free and worldwide. Sign up with a free Stardust account: that is how you get the stream link, the reminders, and a seat in the chat.
In Seattle
Both days in Seattle, venue TBA. The awards reception is at The Rainier Club on the evening of 3 November.
Sponsor or exhibit
A booth at the career fair, a panel, the reception, the stream, or the swag. The levels are above.
Press and partnerships: Shifa Zahra, Director of Space Biology & Strategic Partnerships, shifa.z@stardustinc.ca.