Optus-led consortium to launch Adelaide-made satellite by 2028
Adelaide’s Inovor Technologies has partnered with telecommunications giant Optus on a mission to send a satellite into space by 2028.
Mobile phone giant Optus, Adelaide-based nanosatellite manufacturer Inovor Technologies, and the Australian Department of Defence’s Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) will combine to put a satellite into low earth orbit by early 2028, in a collaboration designed to demonstrate the unique capabilities developed by the Australian space industry in recent years.
The consortium, which also includes the iLAuNCH Trailblazer program – a $180m government funded effort to build the nation’s space industry capability – and space imaging and technology company HEO, will design and build a sovereign Australian low earth orbit (LEO) satellite which will carry two payloads into space.
Inovor, headed by chief executive Dr Matthew Tetlow and based at the Lot Fourteen business incubator in Adelaide, will build the satellite, with the two confirmed payloads to be designed by teams also bringing in expertise from the SmartSat CRC, as well as the University of South Australia and the University of Southern Queensland.
“The first, led by Optus in partnership with HEO and the University of Southern Queensland, includes HEO’s new 20cm Adler Imager, a specialised space telescope designed to take high-resolution pictures of space objects, also known as non-earth imaging,’’ the consortium said.
“This will allow for the consortium to leverage HEO’s unique capability to provide defence, intelligence and civil government agencies and commercial customers with critical insights into space objects.
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“The space awareness information will assist with transparency in space and allow customers to manage and operate their space assets, protect essential space infrastructure, and optimise satellite life. Under this commercial and academic partnership, the capability will also be leveraged for better observation of stars, planets, and other celestial bodies.’’
The second payload, to be developed by the University of South Australia with support from SmartSat CRC, will include a compact communication terminal which functions at fast speeds, using laser light to send and receive data between another satellite or a ground terminal.
“The payload will also include a more conventional radio frequency communications capability, supporting DSTG’s ongoing research and development activities in optical and low earth orbit satellite communications,’’ the consortium said.
Optus Head of Satellite and Space Systems Nick Leake said the telco provider – as well as providing the phone and data services it was well-known for – also had a 160-strong team in its satellite division, which among other things operates the nation’s two NBN satellites from its Belrose headquarters.
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Optus has five satellites in orbit in total, providing services to customers on the ground across Australia, New Zealand and the Antarctic, monitored via operations centres in South Australia, New South Wales, the ACT and Western Australia.
Leake said the local space industry – as evidenced by the expertise of Inovor – had come a long way in recent years, and this project would demonstrate unique capabilities in low earth orbit which could then be sold to the world.
“We’ve got so much capability in Australia in satellite and space – we wanted to basically try and bring some of that to reality,’’ Leake said.
Optus announced earlier this year another collaboration with iLaunch to build smaller, lower cost laser communications ground stations, with optical communications identified as a crucial technological leap from traditional radio satellite communication systems, which are struggling to keep up with the ever-growing demand for data.
“These are bleeding edge technologies, all built made in Australia, which really proves that what we have in Australia is something pretty special,’’ Leake said.
“We wanted to be involved in it, because we’re very much used to running complex space programs.
“It just means that we won’t only be experts in geostationary delivery and operations, but we will then have the skills and capability at the low earth orbit.
“The whole focus is to help kickstart the industry and develop something that is really Australian. It means that you build an Australian supply chain to be able to deliver this capability not only into the Australian market, but into other markets.’’
Dr Tetlow said the project “represents a significant milestone in our strategy to build larger, more capable spacecraft using the success we’ve achieved on orbit as a foundation to deliver genuine Australian-made space capability’’.
“This collaboration will strengthen our national space sovereignty by accelerating advanced satellite manufacturing, creating highly skilled jobs, and proving that Australia has the capability to lead in the global space industry,’’ he said.
The 18th Australian Space Forum starts in Adelaide on Tuesday, July 15, and will showcase speakers from around the world including United States Air Commodore Chris Robson, Commander Space Forces Group, head of the Australian Space Agency Enrico Palermo, and homegrown astronaut and space systems engineer Katherine Bennell-Pegg.
