Atlas Cup to hold first sport in space

Our Bureau - : Jan 28, 2026 - : 5:33 am

Atlas Cup, a newly formed space sports venture, has announced plans to stage its inaugural championship in 2028, positioning itself as the world’s first professional sport designed to operate entirely in orbit. Founded in late 2025, Atlas Cup aims to...

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Founded in late 2025, Atlas Cup aims to create a new category of competitive sport by pitting uncrewed spacecraft against each other in high-speed orbital races. The organisers describe the concept as “orbital sport”, blending cutting-edge space technology with the spectacle and commercial models of established competitions such as Formula One and the America’s Cup.

“Atlas Cup will do for the space industry what professional racing did for the automotive industry,” said Philip Hover-Smoot, chief executive of Atlas Cup. “It’s time for space to be a source of inspiration again, and Atlas Cup is engineered to capture the extraordinary potential of space and deliver it to audiences across the world.”

The launch comes at a time of rapid expansion in the commercial space sector. While new launch providers, satellite operators and spacecraft manufacturers are entering the market, the industry continues to face a fragmented supplier base and a lack of objective, comparative performance data. Atlas Cup argues that direct, head-to-head competition in orbit could address both challenges, serving as entertainment while also generating detailed datasets on spacecraft and component performance under real operating conditions.

The organisers also see an opportunity in the changing global sports media landscape. With traditional broadcasting under pressure from cord-cutting and digital-first consumption, Atlas Cup is designing its content for social media, mobile platforms and streaming services from the outset. The races are intended to deliver dramatic visuals of space while showcasing the capabilities of next-generation spacecraft.

Built around proven space technologies and a partnership model that shifts much of the technical and regulatory risk away from the organisers, Atlas Cup says it is laying the groundwork for a new form of global sport.

“How do you know your system is the best?” Hover-Smoot added. “You win, in orbit.”

Hover-Smoot previously served as chief executive of Scout Space and held senior roles at Spaceflight and Momentus. Atlas Cup says it is working with partners across sports media, space and technology as it moves towards its first championship.