A proposed constellation of satellites has astronomers very worried. Unlike satellites that reflect sunlight and Reflect Orbital would produce light pollution by design. The company promises to produce “sunlight on demand” with mirrors that beam sunlight down to Earth so solar farms can operate after sunset. It plans to start with an 18-metre test satellite… Read more »
A $42 million project to put an Australian-designed and built lunar explorer on the Moon will be realised by the end of the decade. NASA has confirmed the Roo-ver will make the 384,000km trip from Earth as part of its Artemis Moon exploration program, via NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services by 2030. The Roo-ver, 20kg semi-autonomous… Read more »
As taxpayer investments go, the NSW government is on a winner with the National Space Industry Hub, launched in 2021, with every $1 invested in the project resulting in the startups involved attracting $74 in external funding. Cicada Innovations and Investment NSW marked four years of the hub this week with a showcase of the technology involved,… Read more »
A Melbourne startup following in the footsteps of Adelaide’s Fleet Space has raised $5 million in Seed funding to launch more satellites scanning earth for critical minerals. The raise for Esper was led by Darwin innovation investor Paspalis Capital and Islamic finance firm Hejaz. The capital injection will underpin the launch of the company’s fourth… Read more »
The federal government’s $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund has made its third investment, tipping $25 million to lead a $50 million raise by Internet of Things (IoT) satellite builder Myriota. It’s the first raise in four years by the Adelaide space tech startup since former PM Malcolm Turnbull was among the backers of a $28 million… Read more »
South Australian startup Fleet Space Technologies has raised $150 million in a Series D that values the satellite developer and data analytics platform at more than $800 million. The round was led by Canada’s Teachers’ Venture Growth, the VC arm of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. Existing investors Blackbird Ventures, Hostplus, Horizons Ventures, Artesian Venture Partners,… Read more »
Queensland startup Gilmour Space is teaming up with Perth-based Earth observation company LatConnect60 in the second deal involving the rocket builder’s 100-kilogram satellite “bus”, ElaraSat. The collaboration comes just weeks after Gilmour Space landed regulatory approval for the launch of its 23-metres-high Eris rocket in an orbital test flight from its rocket launch pad in… Read more »
In a significant blow to Australia’s defence capabilities, the federal government is cancelling what would have been the nation’s largest-ever space project: a $7 billion military satellite communications system. The decision was confirmed in a press statement on Monday. It comes just 18 months after the Albanese government gave the green light to the ambitious… Read more »
Two South Australian startups, one building a system to help locate and rescue astronauts stranded in remote areas on the Moon, the other, a lightweight spacecraft with AI capabilities, will be backed by state government with $100,000 each. Safety from Space scored the cash from the inaugural South Australian Space Collaboration and Innovation Fund for its… Read more »
The iLAuNCH Trailblazer program has thrown another $1 million into the kitty to fund the commercialisation of university research for the space industry. The federal government-backed program will see the iLAuNCH Accelerator offer seed funding grants worth between $10,000 and $100,000 for proof-of-concept demonstrator technologies with commercial potential. Applications are now open for the fund,… Read more »
Four space research projects at the University of South Australia (UniSA) have received $18 million in funding as part of the $230m iLAuNCH program. The funding coincides with the opening of a new Advanced Manufacturing Metal 3D printing facility at VPG Innovation, in Adelaide’s Camden Park. The 3D printing machines can produce titanium and nickel… Read more »
The global space economy is expected to be worth forecast to be worth $2.7 trillion with a decade, so the NSW government has decided to get in on the action with $500,000 in grant funding. The new NSW Space+ Program grants have been launched ahead of an estimated 10,000 delegates heading to Sydney in September… Read more »
Three space tech startups have received $18 million under the International Space Investment India Projects program, funded by the Australian government. Western Australia’s LatConnect60 received close to $5.8 million to develop and build a Low Earth Orbit satellite in Australia to collect information on carbon emissions at a very high resolution. The satellite will be… Read more »
Having broken new ground in health tech for high-risk situations, Canaria Technologies is taking its next giant leap – to infinity and beyond. The Brisbane-based startup is gearing up to take its pioneering tech in predictive biometrics to the next frontier: outer space. Canaria’s wearables, which combine data about how the human body functions with… Read more »
A Canberra-based air traffic management startup has banked $120 million for plans to run the system from space. The round in Skycraft was led by Australian arm of UK-listed fund manager Foresight, supported by CSIRO VC fund Main Sequence Ventures and Canadian pension fund OPTrust in a raise that took two years to complete. A… Read more »
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