I think we can safely say that the previous quarter was one of the busiest yet for the Australian space industry. In particular we saw record levels of public investment into the sector with almost daily announcements hitting my inbox and newsfeed.
To recap some of the big news
- Funding for two new space manufacturing hubs in Queensland and South Australia was announced. The first is the Australian Space Manufacturing Network (led by Gilmour Space) which received a $52M MMI-C grant to develop an Advanced Manufacturing facility to build and launch rockets and satellites in Australia.
- The second, the Australian Space Park in SA received $40M in federal and state funding. This will see the likes of Fleet Space, Q-CTRL, ATSpace and Alauda Aeronautics collaborate with industry to manufacture small satellites and rockets at the site.
These hubs will support the development of Australian satellite manufacturing capability and strengthen the whole industry. Both will create new jobs and promote collaboration across the sector which is crucial if the Australian space industry is to be embedded into the global space industry.
This new capability will improve the accuracy of existing operational satellite systems and enhance the precision and reliability of data for the critical sectors of the Australian economy like agriculture, mining, and disaster resilience which depend on EO data.
What does all this mean for Australia’s space sector?
I believe the Federal Government funding program will support the development and sustainability of the sector in several ways:
- By shifting the focus away from nano and micro-satellites towards larger satellites means the sector is growing in sophistication and complexity. This could make attracting and retaining talent easier as there will be greater opportunity to work on bigger and more ambitious projects from here in Australia.
- Skills training in data science and advanced manufacturing will be essential to build sufficiently large satellites and the more advanced sensors required for EO missions and support a growing space industry.
- Making the government a major space customer provides Australian space businesses with the opportunity to:
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- Raise capital and invest in ongoing development based on greater demand and investment certainty
- Move away from a reliance on one-off grants and co-funding, which while welcome, has had the perverse outcome of creating a focus on less commercially sustainable projects.
It’s hard to not be excited about the groundswell of support and investment. The program is a fantastic change in the right direction, but it is not the end game. As the sector moves to become more economically sustainable we need to build commercial capacity to turn more promising technologies into real businesses.
Here at The National Space Industry Hub we’re leaning into the opportunity being presented by Government and industry in this new phase for the sector. Our upcoming Space Elevate training course is for anyone with a technology, idea, or problem who wants to understand if it has the potential to become a commercially viable space business.
If you'd like to know more about our space programs, visit our website.