The breadth of innovation taking place across Queensland’s space industry was on full show during a recent visit by the Head of the Australian Space Agency to the South-East.
Enrico Palermo and Chief Technology Officer Aude Vignelles travelled from Brisbane to the Gold Coast and west to Toowoomba to see first-hand the growth of the sector in the Sunshine State.
Mr Palermo said it was encouraging to see the progress being made by Black Sky Aerospace, Gilmour Space Technologies and Hypersonix Launch Systems.The same could be said for the testing activity ongoing at Rocket Technologies International’s test site.
‘Activity and progress towards launch attempts for Aussie made rockets into space from Queensland was clear – as the Prime Minister said on his recent visit, we need to “aim high” and these teams are doing just that.’
This momentum was further highlighted at Brisbane-based EPE. They have been chosen by the Australian Space Agency as a co-lead of one of two consortia to design an early-stage prototype of a lunar rover. The remotely operated, semi-autonomous rover will be part of NASA’s Artemis program.
Results stemming from Australian Space Agency funding were also on show at Crystalaid Manufacture, Valiant Space and Raytracer.
Queensland’s academic institutions are also making inroads, as evident during visits to Queensland University of Technology, and the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ). UniSQ shared the progress of its iLAuNCH program, supported by the Australian Government Department of Education through the Trailblazer Universities Program.
The collaboration between UniSQ, Australian National University and University of South Australia, along with more than 20 industry organisations, aims to boost Australia’s sovereign space capability and help build the workforce of the future.
‘We have witnessed substantial growth in the space industry since the Agency was launched five years ago, embedding advanced manufacturing and backing Australian ideas,’ Mr Palermo said. ‘Programs such as iLAuNCH will help reaffirm our priorities to strengthen Australia’s space sovereignty, while giving young people the inspiration and necessary study pathways to be part of space and other high tech sectors.’
‘From the significant sample of the space sector we have seen in just these three days, the future of Australian space is bright in Queensland contributing to a vibrant national ecosystem.’