INTERNATIONAL SPACE
Australian space manufacturing network bids for three new space facilities earmarked for Queensland By MySecurity Media
50 | Australia in Space Magazine
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atellites with sensors and cameras that detect bushfires within minutes, provide real-time crop data to farmers, connect our remote towns and communities, and rockets that provide valuable access to space from Australia. These are just some of the ‘real world’ capabilities possible with space technology today. But much adequate funding support would further boost the creation of innovations like these which are already being developed by researchers and companies in Australia. “However, the Space industry is still very new relative to other industry pillars, and it lacks the funding and basic infrastructure to support it,” said Adam Gilmour, CEO of Gilmour Space Technologies. The Australian Space Manufacturing Network (ASMN), led by Gilmour Space with backing from the Queensland Government – aims to establish three new space facilities,
centred in Queensland, and the funding would go a long way in the creation of: (1) a common test and manufacturing facility, enabling members to advance their space research and technology development at lower cost; (2) an advanced manufacturing facility for building commercial rockets and satellites, anchored by Gilmour Space; (3) an orbital spaceport at Abbot Point near Bowen in North Queensland, that will help bring many of these products to space. “With participation from six states and territories in Australia, we see this as a genuinely industry-led project that will provide the framework and infrastructure needed to unlock collaborations, create jobs and capability, attract private investment, and advance Australian
