CSIRO and Boeing deepen partnership

CSIRO and Boeing have extended their long running research partnership, adding space industry to areas being jointly investigated.

The two have collaborated since 1989, and will now work on five technology areas: advanced manufacturing, data analytics, energy, future insight consulting services, and space technology.

CSIRO head Larry Marshall said: “Extending our partnership with Boeing into space technology will fuel new discoveries for us while also driving towards Australia’s target of 20,000 jobs in the local space industry by 2030.”

Twenty new projects were announced for this year at the Avalon air show as part of the current five-year, $35 million partnership.

There are four new joint space technology research projects:

# Space situational awareness for commercial and civil purposes such as monitoring space debris;

# on-board image processing and analytics for Earth observation satellites;

#lightweight, radiation shielding materials for spaceflight;

# and on-orbit manufacturing of space structures or satellite components.

CSIRO’s work supports local Boeing manufacturing of composite aircraft parts and systems, as well as that overseas.

The company utilises several CSIRO developments including ‘Paintbond’ technology, which has been applied to more than a thousand Boeing aeroplanes.

In 2018, both CSIRO’s investment fund, managed by Main Sequence Ventures, and Boeing HorizonX Ventures fund, invested in Australian nanosatellite communications start-up Myriota.

Boeing has named CSIRO as a supplier of the year three times, including the past two years.

Picture: Boeing/787

Subscribe to our free @AuManufacturing newsletter here.