Space Park searches for manufacturing partner

The Australian Space Park (ASP), Australia’s first dedicated space manufacturing hub, has called for expressions of interest for a partner to operate its Common User Facility (CUF).

The park, which includes companies Fleet Space Technologies, Q-CTRL, ATSpace and Alauda Aeronautics as investors and partners, is being constructed at Adelaide airport.

The space park CUF will enable local space manufactures to increase capacity which will help to accelerate the country’s sovereign space manufacturing capability.

With space companies co-located around the CUF, it will underpin manufacturing of small satellites, payloads and rockets.

South Australian Defence and Space Industries Minister Susan Close made the announcement while addressing the meeting of the International Astronautical Congress in Paris.

Close said: “The Australian Space Park will help to drive collaboration between local space manufacturers and manufacture at scale.

“The CFU will provide vital infrastructure to position Australia’s space community to deliver the entire space value chain through the design, manufacture and launch of new space capabilities to orbit and beyond.”

The South Australian government is investing $20 million in the Australian Space Park, while the Federal Government is providing an additional $20 million in funding for the CUF.

The park is seeking expressions of interest from either a single entity (prime contractor) or a consortium with the capability, capacity, and resources to operate the CUF, to drive the development of Manufacturing, Assembly, Integration, and Test (MAIT) activities.

The successful CUF operator will be selected in a two-stage procurement process, with the EOI stage developing a shortlist.

The shortlisted respondents will be invited to participate in a request for proposal (RFP) process and the submission of a proposal.

Further information on proposed site location, building size and layout will be provided to shortlisted EOI respondents as part of the RFP process.

Expressions of interest will only be accepted through the SA Tenders and Contracts website Display Tender DTTI051993 (www.tenders.sa.gov.au) and must be submitted prior to 2.00pm (ACST), Monday 31 October 2022.

Picture: South Australian Government