Australia is home to a series of state-of-the-art space facilities, which are open for business to national and international customers.
The Australian Space Agency backed the development of these infrastructure projects under its Space Infrastructure Fund.
The following facilities are now available for industry to engage with:
- Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility, Western Sydney Aerotropolis
- Australian Space Data Analysis Facility
- Fugro’s Space Automation, AI and Robotics Control Complex (SpAARC)
- National Space Qualification Network (NSQN)
- Saber Astronautics’ Responsive Space Operations Centre
- University of Tasmania’s Greenhill Observatory upgrade
Australia’s Space Infrastructure
Value-adding to national and global space activities
In the spotlight: National Space Test Facility, NSQN
The National Space Test Facility (NSTF) is the largest space testing infrastructure in Australasia. The facility (pictured above) is located at the Australian National University (ANU) Mount Stromlo campus.
As part of the National Space Qualification Network, which was supported by the Agency’s Space Infrastructure Fund, the test facility is a strategic national asset for space environmental testing and evaluation of prototype spacecraft.
The NSTF and its team enable the experimental development of major space missions through severe space environmental testing of satellites, payloads, subsystems and components.
“Almost all of the spacecraft developed in Australia in the past few years have been tested at the National Space Test Facility,” Eduardo Trifoni, Director of the NSTF says.
The NSTF has world-class space environmental testing capabilities and advanced instrumentation that provide the best mission assurance prior to launch such as thermal vacuum, vibration, pyroshock, electromagnetic interference/compatibility, LEO Atomic Oxygen interaction, and a large cleanroom for assembly and integration activities.
The NSTF is unique in the global university landscape for providing research services to the space community, including industry, government and academia.