The federal government has announced $20 million in grant funding support for a satellite manufacturing hub in South Australia under the Collaboration Stream of the Modern Manufacturing Initiative.
Fleet Space Technologies’ Australian Space Manufacturing Hub will be located at Australian Space Park at Adelaide Airport and drive collaboration between local space manufacturers and make South Australia the largest manufacturer of satellites in Australia.
The South Australian government is also contributing $20 million towards the $66 million project which is expected to create 221 local jobs and more than 1,000 others indirectly. The federal and state funding will supplement industry investment into the Australian Space Park by Fleet Space Technologies, AT Space, Alauda and Q-CTRL.
Globally, the space sector is expected to grow from US$350 billion to US$1 trillion by 2040. The rapid pace of commercialisation in space activities presents an immense opportunity for Australia.
“Space technologies are drawn on every day by Australians when using navigation systems in their cars and smartphones, by farmers to monitor the health of their crops and by emergency workers to plan and respond to bushfires,” minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said.
“This is a huge opportunity for Australia. Our space businesses are already globally recognised, but these investments are about driving their potential to scale up and create more high-value jobs for Australians. Not only will this investment in South Australia help grow our space sector, it will foster the next generation of space manufacturers and researchers.”
Minister for Defence Industry and for Science and Technology, Melissa Price, said this investment will help to make the space sector more self-sufficient.
“This project will lock in Australia’s ability to deliver along the entire space supply chain,” Price said. “From research and design through to manufacture and operation, Australia’s credentials as a leading space nation are going to be significantly strengthened by this investment.”
The high-tech manufacturing hub will take South Australia’s space sector to a new level, SA premier Steven Marshall said.
“This election is all about building a stronger future and opening new opportunities for South Australians – and the space sector does both,” Marshall said. “South Australia is unequivocally the space state – we have already created nearly 1,600 space jobs in the state and today’s announcement is going to see that number take off.
“We are the home of the Space Discovery Centre, Mission Control, the Australian Space Agency, the Australian Space Park and more than 90 space-related companies are already based right here in SA. This sector is going gangbusters and it’s going to mean our young South Australians can have a rewarding career in the space sector right here without having to move interstate or overseas.”
Working with a range of partners, Fleet Space Technologies will help local companies in neighbouring industries like defence, communications and precision engineering enter the space supply chain and harness local robotics and automation expertise.
This work will further build capability for use in missions to the Moon and beyond, as well as refining technologies that can help us here on earth, such as agricultural management through earth observation.
The federal government has committed over $850 million to the civil space sector since establishing the Australian Space Agency in 2018. It’s part of the government’s mission to triple the size of the local sector by 2030 to $12 billion and create an extra 20,000 new jobs.