Queensland rocket company Gilmour Space has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with US-based Atomos Space to provide in-space transportation and launch aggregation services.
The deal comes as Gilmour prepares for the launch of its first home-grown rocket from it Bowen Orbital Spaceport in northern Queensland
Atomos offers in-space transportation services, while Gold Coast-based Gilmour, which raised $61 million in a Series C in June 2021, is designing and developing environmentally friendly rockets to launch spacecraft into low earth orbit.
The multi-year contract will see the two space companies mutually purchase services for launch, supplied by Gilmour, and in-space transportation, supplied by Atomos.
As part of the partnership, Atomos will deliver its launch aggregation services and orbital vehicles via Gilmour’s rockets. Meanwhile Gilmour will have access to the Atomos Orbital Transfer Vehicles (OTVs) for in-space transportation services and of multiple customer spacecraft.
Atomos has its OTVs stationed in space to meet client satellites in orbit, saving costs and allowing them launch vehicles like Eris to serve a broader range of missions by reserving full launch mass and volume for payloads.
Gilmour Space Technologies CEO Adam Gilmour said the agreement is an exciting opportunity.
“We look forward to exploring the possibility of leveraging Atomos’s orbital transfer capabilities to expand our services and the flexibility of access to space to new markets and customers,” he said.
The federal government awarded Gilmour $15 million in May last year to develop and launch a new sovereign surveillance satellite as part of a $7 billion ramping up of the nation’s space capabilities.
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