The space sector in Australia has seen renewed interest with funding from private and government sectors. The change in tide has been the technological benefits seen with the war in Ukraine, SpaceX’s Starlink connectivity and its mix use for space and military sector.

Nasa’s choice to move away from complete in-house development to transfer technology to the private sector has seen a shift in the global space sector as a mark of a new era. Australia has seen the benefits and it intends to build capability sovereign to the nation. Within the last couple of years, a push to launch from Australia using companies such as Southern Launch Alliance, Equatorial Launch Australia, Gilmore space have seen the push to have indigenous capability in the launch sector.

Another area of computing in space has seen software companies launch cubesats in space which allow for processing of data in-space rather than downloading it to earth and then processing it. This saves time but allows quicker decisions to be made. Companies such as Spiral Blue, HEO are leading the pack from Australia. Imaging companies such as Arlula have recently started providing services with the aim of democratizing space imaging data. Deneb Space has been working on creating GNCC based navigational algorithms.

Having said that, older space companies such as Maxar, Myriota have a hold on this sector through traditional capabilities still required. Optus operates its own satellites in Australia providing critical services to the outback and mining regions.

One of the unicorn companies I have personally seen grow is the story of SaberAstro. The company has grown sizably and has built products of mix use for both civilian and military applications. They have conquered a niche market in Australia and overseas which allows for monitoring of satellites as well as simulating mission critical elements to ensure perfect launches.

With the 17th Andy space forum approaching on 24-25th July in Adelaide, it will be interesting to see new companies and technologies at play in Australia and overseas.