How to Apply to Starburst Aerospace in 2026
Starburst is not one accelerator with one deadline. ICDA, ASTRA, SCALE and the Singapore Impact program publish different terms, and two of them publish none.
How to Apply to Starburst Aerospace in 2026
To apply to Starburst Aerospace, choose one program before you write anything: ICDA, ASTRA, SCALE and the Singapore Impact program run separate applications on separate terms. ICDA and SCALE publish no fee and no equity (Starburst), while ASTRA advertises up to $100,000 in cash plus $100,000 in strategic in-kind support (Starburst).
How to apply to Starburst Aerospace is the wrong first question. Which Starburst program you are applying to is the right one. Starburst describes its flagship accelerator as serving aviation, space, defense and enabling technologies, with access to corporate representatives, government stakeholders and private investors intended to help startups win initial contracts (Starburst). That access is the product, and the programs selling it publish different stages, geographies, lengths and money.
Anything written about "the Starburst accelerator" as one thing is wrong on terms. Read the page for the program you want, then read the participation agreement.
How to apply to Starburst Aerospace in six steps
- Choose the program before you write anything. ASTRA, ICDA, SCALE and the Singapore Impact program each publish their own eligibility, length and terms (Starburst).
- Read the geography clause first, not the stage clause. ICDA takes pre-seed and seed startups and mature research projects in the Innovation Corridor, or elsewhere in the United States if you will expand in the San Marcos area (Starburst). SCALE asks applicants outside Southern California to relocate or establish a branch there (Starburst).
- Submit on that program's own application page. ASTRA accepts applications on a rolling basis (Starburst) and ICDA Cohort 2 opened on August 21, 2026 (Starburst).
- Prepare for a private pitch, not a public one. The Singapore Impact route runs rolling review, then clarification requests, office hours and closed-door interviews (Starburst).
- Map milestones onto the published sequence. ASTRA runs discovery and validation, capability demonstration, pilot-pathway and commercialization planning, Demo Day, then post-program fundraising support (Starburst).
- Assemble the dual-use file before diligence asks. Export-control classification, cleared personnel and your customer concentration answer belong in the data room before the first partner meeting.
The Starburst Aerospace application is per program, not per company
Four programs, four eligibility bars, no shared terms sheet.
| Program | Who it is for | Length | Money published | Fee or equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASTRA | Rolling applications, aviation and space | Seven months: a five-month intensive bootcamp plus two months of post-program support | Up to $100,000 cash plus $100,000 strategic in-kind | Not published |
| ICDA | Pre-seed and seed startups and mature research projects in the Innovation Corridor, or elsewhere in the US if willing to expand in San Marcos | 13 weeks | No direct funding promised | No support fee, no equity |
| SCALE | Pre-seed and seed aerospace companies, hybrid delivery, relocation or a Southern California branch required for non-locals | 13 weeks | Not published | No cash fee, no equity |
| Singapore Impact | International startups, no targeted stage or product-readiness requirement, traction preferred | Not published | No direct funding; grants up to S$250,000 for eligible Singapore-based startups, subject to evaluation | Not published |
Rows from the ASTRA page, ASTRA application page, ICDA FAQ, SCALE FAQ and Starburst Impact FAQ.
If you have a signed pilot and no institutional round, try Singapore first. That route sets no targeted stage or product-readiness requirement and prefers traction such as pre-seed or seed funding, commercial partnerships or customers (Starburst).
Starburst Aerospace equity terms: no equity where it is published, silence where it is not
Two programs print the terms and two do not. ICDA explicitly charges no support fee and asks for no equity (Starburst). SCALE charges no cash fee and takes no equity (Starburst).
Silence is not a no. The ASTRA and Singapore Impact pages publish no fee or equity structure, so ask for the participation agreement in writing before you tell your board the program is non-dilutive.
Money and equity are separate questions here. No-equity does not mean funded: ICDA promises no direct funding and positions itself as preparing founders to raise capital and connect with ecosystem stakeholders (Starburst), while ASTRA is the outlier that advertises cash (Starburst).
Starburst Aerospace deadline 2026: one open window, one expired date
One program has an open, dated window; one widely repeated date has already expired.
| Program | Published application status |
|---|---|
| ICDA Cohort 2 | Opened August 21, 2026, launches December 2026, in-person Demo Day early March 2027, no closing date printed |
| ASTRA | Accepted on a rolling basis |
| Singapore Impact | Year-round, rolling review |
| SCALE | No dated window published |
ICDA dates from the ICDA application page, ASTRA status from the ASTRA application page, Singapore from the Starburst Impact FAQ.
Do not plan around February 1, 2026. A December 2025 announcement printed that date as the ASTRA Cohort 8 deadline (Starburst), it has passed, and the live ASTRA application page now says rolling (Starburst). Directory sites still repeat the old date.
ICDA prints an open date and no close date, so apply early rather than assuming a window (Starburst). Confirmed windows for this program family are tracked in our deadline calendar.
What dual-use means for your cap table: export control, clearances, concentration
Dual-use is not a market label. It is a set of constraints on who can own you, who can see your work, and who pays you.
Export control decides who can read your repository. If your hardware or technical data is controlled under ITAR or the EAR, foreign nationals on the team, foreign limited partners behind a fund and a shared data room become legal questions instead of preferences. Get a written classification from export counsel before partner meetings start.
The program you pick already implies a jurisdiction. ICDA wants you in the Innovation Corridor or willing to expand in San Marcos (Starburst), SCALE wants relocation or a Southern California branch (Starburst), and the Singapore Impact route runs the other way, open to international startups (Starburst). Pick the one matching your customer's flag.
Clearances are sponsored, not bought. You cannot self-sponsor a facility or personnel clearance, so ask a program which of its partners can sponsor one and on what timeline. Never put a clearance you do not hold on a slide.
Customer concentration, not the technology, is what gets priced in your term sheet.
✅ Good: "Two program offices funding separate line items, one commercial pilot, and a written path off the first contract." It shows a buyer set, not a single sponsor.
❌ Bad: "We are the sole-source provider to one program office and expect follow-on awards from the same budget line." The whole revenue line sits inside one budget decision the founder does not control.
Starburst Aerospace acceptance rate: the number nobody publishes
Starburst publishes no acceptance rate, and no cohort size holds across its programs. The one published cohort figure is the inaugural 2026 ICDA cohort of 10 startups (Starburst). That is one cohort, of one program, in one year.
If a selectivity percentage is not on a Starburst page, it did not come from Starburst. Ask the program manager how many applications the last cohort drew and use that answer or nothing.
Is Starburst Aerospace worth it in 2026?
Take Starburst for the customer access, not the check. ICDA states plainly that it does not promise direct funding and instead prepares founders to raise capital and connect with ecosystem stakeholders (Starburst).
Capital is not the scarce input in defense tech right now. Defense-tech startups received $19.1 billion in venture investment in Q2 2025, up 200% year over year, with $28.4 billion year to date (PitchBook). Money is chasing this category. A program office that returns your calls is harder to buy.
Say yes if a first contract inside 13 weeks changes your next round. Say no if you cannot honour the geography clause. Standing up a San Marcos or Southern California presence is a real cost for a five-person team (Starburst).
When this matters for your raise
A no-equity, no-fee program is cheap on the cap table and expensive on the calendar. ICDA runs 13 weeks (Starburst) and ASTRA runs seven months (Starburst), which is a full raise cycle if you let it be one. Run the investor process in parallel, because a March 2027 Demo Day only converts if partners have tracked you since December (Starburst). If keeping that list warm while the program eats your week is the constraint, tools like Causo run the outreach in the background.
FAQ
How hard is it to get into Starburst Aerospace? Starburst publishes no acceptance rate for any of its accelerators. The only published cohort figure is the inaugural 2026 ICDA cohort of 10 startups (Starburst), one cohort of one program in one year rather than a selectivity rate. Ask the program manager how many applications the last cohort drew.
Does Starburst Aerospace take equity? Not in the two programs that publish terms. ICDA charges no support fee and asks for no equity (Starburst), and SCALE charges no cash fee and takes no equity (Starburst). The ASTRA and Singapore Impact pages publish no fee or equity structure, so get the participation agreement in writing before you call the program non-dilutive.
How much funding does Starburst Aerospace provide? The amount is set per program, not per brand. ASTRA advertises up to $100,000 in cash plus $100,000 in strategic in-kind support (Starburst), and ICDA promises no direct funding (Starburst). The Singapore program provides none either, although eligible Singapore-based startups may apply for grants of up to S$250,000 subject to further evaluation and approval (Starburst).
When is the Starburst Aerospace application deadline? There is no single deadline. ICDA Cohort 2 opened August 21, 2026 and prints no closing date, launching in December 2026 with an in-person Demo Day in early March 2027 (Starburst). ASTRA accepts applications on a rolling basis (Starburst), and the February 1, 2026 date from a December 2025 cohort announcement has expired.
Is Starburst Aerospace worth it for founders? Worth it if you want government and corporate contract access more than a check. Starburst frames its flagship accelerator around access to corporate representatives, government stakeholders and private investors intended to help startups win initial contracts (Starburst). The cost is time plus geography: ICDA runs 13 weeks and expects a San Marcos footprint (Starburst).
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