The Australian government has committed USD$20million (A$27 million) to the development of the Space Manufacturing Hub in Adelaide, South Australia.
This adds to funds already committed by the South Australian government (A$20million) and a consortium of leading space, aerospace and advanced air mobility companies including Fleet, Q-CTRL, AtSpace and Alauda Aeronautics, bringing the total value of the project to A$66million.
The Space Manufacturing Hub is expected to be one of the most advanced facilities of its kind in the world. It will create a common user facility that will support Australia’s rapidly growing space industry and its overall space ecosystem.
Fleet Space says that this forms a key strategic pillar of the space National Manufacturing priority by playing a critical next step in supporting Australia’s space industry to scale and compete globally. The Space Manufacturing Hub will provide the required facilities to design, manufacture, test and launch critical components for space-going vehicles and satellites.
This will include innovative approaches pioneered by Fleet Space, including the development of ‘Alpha’, a new constellation of small satellites utilising the latest additive manufacturing and 3D printing technology. This is expected by the company to drive down costs and democratise a technology that enables global connectivity across multiple sectors and user-cases.
The Hyper Factory by Fleet Space will harness the power of local robotics and automation capabilities and will enable the development and manufacture of vehicles for Moon to Mars missions including lunar rovers.
"The addition of this very significant investment from the Australian Government to the funds already pledged by the South Australian Government is affirmation of our nation’s commitment to the development of a rapidly growing industry and innovation in sovereign technological capabilities in space manufacturing," Flavia Tata Nardini, CEO and Co-Founder, Fleet Space Technologies said. "The Space Hub in Adelaide will position South Australia as a true global centre of excellence in the development of space technologies.”