The Arnhem Space Centre (ASC) in the Northern Territory will see a series of orbital space launches following the signing of a multi-year agreement between space facility operator Equatorial Launch Australia (ELA) and Korean aerospace company INNOSPACE. The agreement will see the launch of several INNOSPACE rocket variants each carrying between 50kg and 500kg payloads…
In-space electric propulsion developer Neumann Space and SmallSat pioneer Surrey Satellite Technology have agreed to work together to test an Australian designed and manufactured in-space propulsion system as part of the CarbSAR In Orbit Demonstration Mission. SSTL and Adelaide’s Neumann Space will begin work this year to integrate the next generation Neumann Drive as an…
In the first part of a two-part series we consider the importance of scaleup manufacturers. Brent Balinski spoke to some fast-growing manufacturers and other experts about the subject. Adam Gilmour describes himself and his team as “super-busy” assembling an orbital launch vehicle and launch site when asked. Gilmour Space Technologies has been focussed on rockets…
MicroBioGen is breeding world-renowned microorganisms, and believes these could be useful in everything from baking better bread to deep space travel. Brent Balinski visited the company’s lab and heard about how baker’s yeast is ancient and ubiquitous, yet remains full of untapped potential. Based in Northern Sydney’s Macquarie Park is a company dedicated to extending…
Venture-backed launch company Gilmour Space Technologies has announced it will roll out industrial design and product lifecycle management software from Siemens across its Queensland facilities. In a statement from Siemens on Thursday, software from its Xcelerator portfolio would help increase Gilmour’s “cross-functional collaboration through unified digital frameworks across various areas” including the launch vehicles and…
The new iLaunch (Innovative Launch, Automation, Novel Materials, Communications, and Hypersonics) Trailblazer, linking three universities with private businesses to commercialise space-oriented R&D, will be launched by federal assistant education minister Anthony Chisholm on Thursday. The Trailblazer initiative was part of the previous federal government’s efforts to increase commercial returns from university research, and was awarded…
Twenty-four projects have been awarded a total of $50 million in grant funding through round 14 of the Cooperative Research Centre-Projects, including projects involving Gilmour Space Technologies, Diraq and First Graphene. CRC-Ps offer funding of between $100,000 and $3 million for a project which must be at least dollar-matched by participants. Projects can be up…
Australian Space Industry Capability Database to be launched The Space Industry Association of Australia has announced the Australian Space Industry Capability Database will launch to all users from mid-July 2023. The database will provide interactive data visualisations that demonstrate the scale and capability of the Australian space sector, including capability data, workforce data and detailed…
The Holmes Imager, a telescopic camera made by HEO Robotics for collecting data from satellites in orbit, has been launched aboard a SpaceX rocket. In a statement on Tuesday morning, the Sydney-based company said Holmes was “the world’s first commercial camera dedicated to non-Earth imaging” and made entirely within Australia. HEO praised its collaborative partners…
Gilmour Space Technologies confirmed today that it had executed a $52 million grant agreement with the federal government that will see new space manufacturing and space launch facilities established as part of its Australian Space Manufacturing Network (ASMN) project. The project, co-funded under the Modern Manufacturing Initiative (MMI) Collaboration stream, the Queensland government and industry…
