RMIT hopes to “unlock boundless future opportunities” in space industry via new Boeing partnership

Boeing and RMIT have announced the signing of an agreement with will combine the university’s manufacturing expertise and the aerospace company’s global networks, with a view to commercialising co-developed products.

R&D would take place at RMIT’s Space Industry Hub and would have an initial focus on process, materials, and design.

“Our ultimate goal is to maximise opportunities for commercialisation of the products that we co-develop with Boeing,” said RMIT Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation, Professor Calum Drummond, in a statement.

“Leveraging Boeing and RMIT’s joint expertise and facilities, we believe we can unlock boundless future opportunities for Australian industry.”

Paul Watson, Boeing Defence Australia’s director of Aerospace Engineering and Production, said that the growing space industry in Australia required highly-specialised manufacturing techniques, able to create high-complexity, low-volume products.

“This partnership will develop new knowledge in advanced manufacturing technologies which will not only stimulate the development of a local fabrication capability but will also expose Australian industry to space export markets as part of Boeing’s global supply chain,” Watson added.

The Space Industry Hub was launched in June, with support from the Victorian government, the Smartsat CRC, Amazon Web Services and FrontierSI. 

Picture: Getty Images

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