Space

Australia is claiming its ‘first’ female astronaut in Meganne Christian – along with New Zealand, Italy and the UK

- November 25, 2022 2 MIN READ

Australia is celebrating the rise of women in space with NSW-raised Dr Meganne Christian selected as part of the European Space Agency’s 2022 astronaut class. She is one of 11 reservist astronauts, alongside five career astronauts and one parastronaut chosen from more than 22,500 applicants. If she goes to space, it will be as a… Read more »

Space

Why the the Kanyini CubeSat is a giant leap for Australian space exploration

- November 10, 2022 3 MIN READ

It’s the multi-million-dollar satellite that will collect invaluable data from space once it takes off into the cosmos. But the pieces of the puzzle that make up the $6.5 million CubeSat mission, dubbed Kanyini, have been scattered across labs and workshops across South Australia – until now. Leading South Australian space companies have procured their… Read more »

Phil Bland
Space

Western Australia’s first Binar spacecraft returned to Earth as a fireball. Here’s what we learned

- October 14, 2022 3 MIN READ

This weekend marked a milestone for Western Australia’s Binar Space Program as its first satellite Binar-1 lived up to its name. Binar is the word for “fireball” in the Noongar language spoken by the Aboriginal people of Perth. Binar-1 became a real “Binar” as it re-entered Earth’s atmosphere over the weekend. Although the chance of… Read more »

Space

Virgin Orbit is going to set up a space launch base in Queensland

- September 21, 2022 2 MIN READ

Sir Richard Branson’s Nasdaq listed rocket launch company, Virgin Orbit, is setting up shop in Toowoomba, 100km west of Brisbane, taking up an offer to establish its third global launch site from local entrepreneurs the Wagner brothers. Virgin Orbit (Nasdaq: VORB) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding  with ASX-listed Wagner Corporation (ASX: WGN), which operates… Read more »

Space

Rocket startup Gilmour Space is launching a ‘caravan’ into orbit in 2024

- September 20, 2022 2 MIN READ

Queensland rocket and satellite company, Gilmour Space, will launch Australia’s first ‘Caravan’ to space in late 2024, with a payload of multiple satellites for low earth orbits (LEO), as part of a “rideshare” model for other space startups. CEO and cofounder Adam Gilmour said that unlike most rocket launches which host a primary customer payload,… Read more »

Sally-Ann Williams
Space

Cicada Innovations signs deal with Indian space-tech incubator mach33.aero

- July 29, 2022 2 MIN READ

The Sydney-based National Space Industry Hub at deep tech incubator Cicada Innovations is partnering with one of India’s largest aviation, aerospace and space-tech incubators, mach33.aero to support space entrepreneurs across both nations with their global and beyond ambitions. The Bangalore-based fellow deep tech incubator is India’s first public-private partnership to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in… Read more »

Space

Gilmour Space lands $15 million from the Australian government for Defence surveillance satellites

- May 9, 2022 2 MIN READ

The federal government has awarded Queensland rocket company Gilmour Space Technologies $15 million to develop and launch a new sovereign surveillance satellite as part of a $7 billion ramping up of the nation’s space capabilities. Defence Minister Peter Dutton said the partnership with the Gold Coast tech company is part of the government’s Space Command,… Read more »

Space

Perth microsatellite startup LatConnect 60 is heading to orbit with Gilmour Space

- April 6, 2022 2 MIN READ

Perth-based startup LatConnect 60 (LC60), an Earth observation and data fusion company, is partnering with Queensland rocket company Gilmour Space Technologies, in a project to to build and launch the first microsatellite in a planned high-resolution hyperspectral imaging constellation. LC60 CEO and founder Venkat Pillay, and Gilmour Space’s Adam Gilmour announced the deal at the… Read more »

Gilmour Space rocket launch
Space

Gilmour Space lands $52 million grant to ramp up Queensland’s rocket launching ambitions

- March 28, 2022 2 MIN READ

Gold Coast-based Gilmour Space Technologies has received a $52 million grant from the federal government for its collaborative project bringing together more than 30 local space tech startups, and universities. The Australian Space Manufacturing Network (ASMN) was awarded Modern Manufacturing Initiative Collaboration (MMIC) grant for the development of sovereign space capabilities in Australia. The grant… Read more »

Space

If Australia wants a space industry, then it can’t do it on the cheap by not investing in research

- March 23, 2022 4 MIN READ

In the past few years, Australia has formed its own space agency and launched a defence “space command”. Billions of dollars for defence, and hundreds of millions for civilian space, have been allocated from the public purse to develop capability in this growing sector. This funding covers the Moon-to-Mars Program, the SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre,… Read more »

Fleet Space Technologies
Space

Adelaide’s $66 million Space Manufacturing Hub lands $20m federal grant

- March 3, 2022 2 MIN READ

The Australian Government has backed plans to build a $66 million Adelaide-based manufacturing hub for the space industry with a $20 million grant towards the project. The Space Manufacturing Hub, first revealed last December, is a collaboration between the South Australian government and four local startups: nano-satellite maker Fleet Space Technologies, quantum technologies developer Q-CTRL and… Read more »

Space

How Victorian high school students are leading an experiment on space-made yoghurt

- February 17, 2022 4 MIN READ

It’s probably no surprise that keeping healthy in space is incredibly important. And without the typical resources found on Earth, creative solutions have to be explored. Right now, some excited Year 10 and 11 students from around Victoria are waiting with anticipation as their space-made yoghurt – fresh off the International Space Station (ISS) –… Read more »