South Australia will take part in a national effort to strengthen Australia’s relationships with key international space players at the 69th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Bremen, Germany, from 1-5 October 2018.

The South Australian Government, through the South Australian Space Industry Centre (SASIC), will lead a contingent of six local companies and education institutes to Germany to exhibit on the Australian Space Agency’s stand at the world’s premier international space gathering.

Over 20 meetings are organised between South Australia’s space industry and key global space stakeholders, including Airbus, SITAEL, International Space University and the University of Surrey, which shows the level of international interest in the local space ecosystem.

During the event, SASIC in collaboration with the Australian Space Agency, ACT Government and Space Industry Association of Australia (SIAA) will jointly host a networking event to promote Australia’s space stakeholders and foster international partnership and collaboration opportunities.

SASIC Chief Executive Richard Price said the joint networking initiative demonstrates a national collaborative effort to build positive relationships in the global space sector and create a sustainable space economy in Australia.

“We are committed to working collaboratively at a national level to grow Australia’s space economy and support the Australian Space Agency in its endeavours to build international collaboration,” he said.

“Over the past 18 months, we have worked hard to build and maintain a network of strategic international partnerships in the space sector.

“As part of our commitment to the national space endeavour, we will share our established international networks with the Australian Space Agency to help the agency achieve its goal of tripling the size of Australia’s domestic space industry to $12 billion by 2030.

“The International Astronautical Congress is a fantastic opportunity for Australia’s innovative start-ups, companies and universities to showcase their cutting-edge technology and ideas to space heavyweights and international companies.”

South Australia has established international collaboration agreements with Italian Space Agency ASI, German Aerospace Center DLR and the UAE Space Agency over the past two years. SASIC is also in active collaboration with NASA, French Space Agency CNES and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency JAXA.

During the IAC, specific events are organised with the UAE Space Agency, DLR and Australian delegates to build collaboration and share knowledge and expertise.

The South Australian companies and education institutes participating on the Australian Space Agency stand include:

  • Flinders University
  • Inovor Technologies
  • Neumann Space
  • Nova Systems
  • Southern Launch
  • University of South Australia