Australian satellite manufacturing hub awarded budget grant

Australia’s first Satellite Manufacturing Hub (ASMH) for larger earth observation satellites up to 500 kilograms in weight will be established at the South Jerrabomberra Regional Jobs Precinct in NSW and at the UTS Tech Lab, adjacent to the Sydney Innovation and Technology Precinct in Botany, NSW, through a $71 million investment and collaboration between Electro Optic Systems (EOS), Nova Systems, UTS Tech Lab, Gilmour Space and the federal and NSW governments.

The ASMH will provide secure facilities to enable research and development collaborations between industry, leading Australian universities and CSIRO, as well as the design, prototyping, manufacturing, integration and testing of large satellites and payloads. It is estimated that the project will directly generate 125 full-time, high-skilled jobs in NSW — around half of these located in regional NSW — as well as having a multiplying effect that results in the creation of 375 additional jobs throughout the supply chain and broader economy.

The project’s satellite manufacturing hubs address key opportunity areas identified in the Space National Manufacturing Priority road map, such as: nano and small satellite development, optical wireless communication technologies and key ground segment subsystems.

Image caption: (L–R) Glen Tindall, CEO, EOS Space Systems; Senator Jim Molan, Senator for NSW; The Hon Angus Taylor, Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction; Dr Jerry Nockles, Candidate for Eden-Monaro; Mike Gallagher, Director Defence NSW, Investment NSW; Adam Smith, Managing Director, Nova Systems Australia and New Zealand.