India-Australia space opportunities take off

Australian and Indian space industry companies are looking to greater opportunities through collaborating following our participation in this year’s Bengaluru Space Expo held in the technology-intensive city formerly known as Bangalore.

Australia was the partner country in this year’s expo, with companies signing six new industry-to-industry memorandums for collaboration, with the aim to boost commercial space ties, according to media reports.

The Australian Space Agency took to social media in Banggaluru to say: “India has a well-established space ecosystem and our countries share similar space priorities.

“We look forward to further advancing our relationship and creating valuable opportunities for our space sectors.”

Companies signing agreements included Space Machines Company (SMC), HEX20, QL Space, SABRN Health and Altdata, according to media reports.

Australian Space Agency head Enrico Palermo, who headed the Australian mission, said Australia recognised the significance of the Indian space sector, with the two countries ‘perfect partners’.

India has a well developed government space flight sector, including the Gaganyaan human space flight mission which aims to put a three-person crew in space in 2024.

A report in This Week India magazine reported Australia-India industry agreements including:

• Australian space transportation company Space Machines Company (SMC) will collaborate with India’s Ananth Technologies on product integration, testing, technology development and joint-space missions
• Start-up HEX20 will work with India’s Skyroot Aerospace to provide launch services, spacecraft avionics and components to Australian space initiatives. HEX20 is one of the nine start-ups working in an incubator programme under the University of South Australia’s Innovation and Collaboration Centre (ICC)
• Australia’s QL Space and Skyroot Aerospace will work together on launch facilities and space mineral exploration
• QL Space will also partner with GalaxEye to develop a hybrid optic and radar payload
• And SABRN Health and Altdata and India’s DCube will integrate hardware, sensor technology and software to provide health support to astronauts.

Picture: Australian Space Agency/Bengaluru Space Expo