The future of space in Australia

South Australia is at the forefront of our nation’s expansion into the global space economy.

We are home to the Australian Space Agency, Australian Mission Control Centre, Australian Space Discovery Centre, the future Australian Space Park and more than 100 space-related companies.

This includes more than 1400 people working across the sector in roles varying from space scientists, propulsion and robotic engineers to data and AI analysts, software developers and space lawyers.

With space technology getting smaller, access to space is becoming more affordable for businesses and with innovation cycles becoming shorter, now is the right time to propel forward into the global market.

This is why the Malinauskas government is building a thriving space ecosystem and an advanced manufacturing capability that will provide the support needed for our brightest innovators to collaborate and grow their ideas.

We are committed to the Australian Space Agency’s ambitious agenda that aims to triple the space sector’s contribution to GDP to over $12 billion per annum and create up to an additional 20,000 jobs by 2030.

South Australia’s space community has the expertise and capability to make significant contributions to the national space agenda. To support this, we are investing in programs and facilities that provide our space industry with the resources to test and commercialise new technologies. This includes supporting study and training pathways to build the workforce of the future.

The rapid commercialisation of home-grown research and technologies is also helping to drive our state’s contribution to the national space agenda.

To keep up momentum, the local space industry needs specialists across a range of disciplines. Collaboration between industry, government and entrepreneurs drives innovation and is key to ensuring space technologies benefit life here on Earth.

The Australian Space Agency was established to provide a national focus and create and sustain the conditions necessary to grow the sector, leveraging the nation’s competitive advantages in robotics, sensors and automation, advanced communication, quantum technology, rocket propulsion, space medicine and astronomy to take its place in the global space sector.

A number of initiatives are helping to drive innovation and attract emerging space companies and international players to the state. This includes the GRAVITY Challenge, a global innovation program that pairs innovators with organisations to provide cutting-edge solutions to real-world issues using space technology and capability.

We also have the Venture Catalyst Space incubator program delivered by the Innovation & Collaboration Centre at UniSA that supports early-stage technology-based space start-ups from across the world to create a globally scalable enterprise.

The next step in positioning Australia’s space community to deliver the entire space value chain is the Australian Space Park. This will enable the design, manufacture, launch and mission control of NewSpace capabilities. 

The Australian Space Park will accelerate Australia’s sovereign space manufacturing capability and capacity by initially co-locating four space manufacturing companies in a purpose-built facility. It will have a focus on collaboration and production of small satellites and their payloads, rockets, electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles, and supporting componentry and technical systems.

As is the case in so many sectors, one of the critical challenges we face is ensuring we have an appropriately trained and skilled workforce to take advantage of the opportunities that lie ahead.

This concern is not confined to the space industries. Other industries such as defence, construction, agribusiness, hospitality and health care are facing the same workforce challenge.

While there is no silver-bullet solution, the Malinauskas government is committed to investing in education and training to address the workforce needs of the future. This starts with increasing digital literacy from school age with STEM in schools.

We also need the full spectrum of skills and service providers to ensure we are training a pipeline of talent for roles that will be in high demand.

Part of this is building five new technical colleges – three in metropolitan Adelaide and two in the regions – to support secondary school students to undertake vocational and technical training relevant to defence and space industries.

In addition, the South Australian Government is developing a workforce strategy that will address workforce challenges across all sectors to ensure we have the talent and skills needed into the future.

We are working on the development of a comprehensive space education program that will lead to a sizeable interdisciplinary space workforce with depth for decades to come in collaboration with academia and industry.