The Space Entrepreneur Summer Academy (SESA) is an empowering summer camp like no other: a crash course in astropreneurship.

SESA, held at Expanding Frontiers’ (ExF) headquarters in Brownsville, Texas, is an interactive and immersive three-week program that introduces high school students to the basics of space exploration development and entrepreneurship. The goal is to engage, educate, and provide pathways for local students into multidisciplinary space-related careers. 

SESA offers the most up-to-date industry knowledge. Under the supervision of specialized mentors students receive hands-on training in entrepreneurship and space-related sciences. As part of the curriculum, students tackle real-world problems faced by the space industry. The students’ experience is enhanced by conversations with guest speakers from NASA, the Silicon Valley Space Center, UTRGV’s Center for Advanced Radio Astronomy (CARA), industry, academia, and more. Topics range from public speaking and business planning to astronomy and rocket propulsion, with new activities every single year. 

The program continuously challenges the students to utilize their acquired knowledge and skills within an entrepreneurship framework to better respond to the needs of the space industry. The program culminates with a final group presentation in which the students showcase what they learned.

With SpaceX just around the corner in Boca Chica Beach, excitement for space exploration is at an all-time high. SESA empowers students and the wider community by demonstrating that careers in NewSpace are attainable and accessible.