Tag: Australia
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U.S. Space Force Selects Lake Kickapoo, Texas, for Final DARC Radar Site
The U.S. Space Force selected a remote location near Lake Kickapoo in northern Texas on September 9 as the preferred site for the third Deep-space Advanced Radar Capability installation, completing the planned geographic footprint of a three-nation radar network designed to provide persistent surveillance of objects in geosynchronous orbit. DARC is a next-generation ground-based space…
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Gilmour Space, Hypersonix Partner on Australian Hypersonic Flight-Test Capability
Gilmour Space Technologies and Hypersonix signed an agreement in Canberra on September 8, 2026, to develop a sovereign Australian hypersonic flight-test capability for domestic, allied and commercial customers. The partnership combines Gilmour Space’s rocket propulsion, launch, mission integration and flight-test operations with Hypersonix’s scramjet engines and autonomous hypersonic aircraft. The two Queensland-based companies intend to…
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NBN’s Starlink Alternative Slips to Mid-2027 as Amazon Kuiper Deployment Lags
Australia’s national broadband provider NBN Co has pushed back the launch of its next-generation low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite broadband service to mid-2027, delaying a program intended to replace its aging Sky Muster satellite offering and provide a government-backed alternative to SpaceX’s rapidly expanding Starlink network. The service was originally expected to be fully available…
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Optera Raises £3 Million to Expand Space Domain Awareness Technology in the UK
Optera has secured £3 million ($4 million) in fresh funding to support its relocation from Australia to the United Kingdom, strengthening its position in the growing market for space domain awareness (SDA) and dual-use sensing technologies. The funding round was led by the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S), with participation from Blackfinch Ventures,…
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NRO Awards First Contracts to Commercial Space Firms Under New Procurement Program
The U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) has awarded its first three contracts under a new procurement program aimed at expanding access to commercial satellite intelligence capabilities, Deputy Director Maj. Gen. Christopher Povak said on Thursday. Speaking at the National Security Space Association’s Defense and Intelligence Space Conference, Povak said the contracts were issued through the…
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Gilmour Space and Transcelestial Partner on Laser Communications for Satellites
Australian launch and satellite company Gilmour Space Technologies has entered into a long-term strategic partnership with Singapore-based laser communications firm Transcelestial to integrate optical communications technology into future satellite platforms, the companies said on Monday. As a first step, Gilmour Space will fly a Transcelestial laser communications terminal on an upcoming mission, supporting an in-orbit…
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Australia’s HEO Buys Satellite Already in Orbit to Fast-Track Sovereign Space Capability
Australian non-Earth imaging startup HEO has acquired an operational satellite from Argentina-based Earth observation company Satellogic, opting for an in-orbit purchase rather than building and launching a new spacecraft to establish sovereign imaging capability. The satellite, formerly known as NewSat-34 and now renamed Continuum-1, will immediately expand HEO’s non-Earth imaging (NEI) capacity, enabling applications such…
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Gilmour Space Raises US$145 million to Expand Australia’s Domestic Space Capability
Gilmour Space Technologies has secured A$217 million (US$145 million) in private equity funding to support the next phase of growth in Australia’s domestic space industry, as the company advances plans to deliver sovereign launch and satellite capabilities. The Series E round was jointly led by the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation and Hostplus, with participation from…
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Gilmour Space’s Eris rocket fails initial test flight from Australia
Gilmour Space launched the first test flight of its homegrown Eris rocket, which aims to become the first sovereign-built vehicle to reach orbit from Australian soil. After liftoff at 22:35 UTC on July 29, the vehicle slowly cleared the launch tower and drifted to the side before coming back down to Earth. The vehicle cleared…
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The top fell off Australia’s first orbital-class rocket, delaying its launch
The payload fairing at the top of Gilmour Space’s first Eris rocket was supposed to deploy a few minutes after lifting off from northeastern Australia. Instead, the nose cone fell off the rocket hours before it was supposed to leave the launch pad Thursday. Gilmour, the Australian startup that developed the Eris rocket, announced the…