Student satellite projects are a widely used measure for introducing space technology industry to students as potential future workforce, entrepreneurs and innovators. This study presents factors encouraging the creation of space industry spin-offs from student satellite projects. Between April 2018 and June 2018, eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with the alumni of the student satellite project ESTCube-1 and Aalto Satellite Program (satellites Aalto-1 and Aalto-2), who started

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... ir own companies during or after their participation in these satellite projects. In this thesis, student entrepreneurship is being studied through the following factors previously outlined in university spin-off related researchassets related to intellectual property, knowledge and social capital, and additionally personal characteristics relevant to entrepreneurship. The results showed that the capabilities of student satellite projects depend on access to relevant human capital and the objectives of these projects. Currently the capabilities of these projects in terms of innovation and spin-off creation are limited. Nevertheless, by supporting the sustainable growth of student satellite projects, student's evolvement from being entrepreneurial to becoming entrepreneurs can encourage the creation of spin-offs, and therefore help along with supplementing the missing gap between student entrepreneurship and innovation in space technology industry.