SpaceBase, Australian Space Common User Facility
South Australia is establishing a space common user facility that will provide space companies with access to equipment and facilities essential to the sector’s future growth.
Opening in 2029, SpaceBase will be Australia’s premier facility for the assembly, integration and testing of small satellites up to 250kg.
An initiative of the South Australian Government, through the South Australian Space Industry Centre, SpaceBase will be located in the new Defence HQ building at Adelaide’s innovation district, Lot Fourteen.
The facility will offer state-of-the-art space test infrastructure, including functional and pre-launch testing, in a cleanroom environment. Users will have access to specialist equipment and test expertise in a convenient, central facility surrounded by high-tech space and innovation companies.
Designed to support Australia’s growing space sector, SpaceBase will be open to commercial companies, startups, universities and government agencies, providing access to world-class infrastructure that helps reduce barriers to entry and accelerate innovation.
Defence HQ
SpaceBase will be an anchor tenant located within a new state-of-the-art innovation centre, Defence HQ, at Lot Fourteen that will be a hub for local defence, space, critical technologies and cyber industries. Construction of Defence HQ commenced in 2026 with anchor tenants to move in by the end of 2028.
Other anchor tenants at Defence HQ will be BAE Systems, who will establish their new South Australian headquarters at the site, a new $60 million Australian Defence Technologies Academy and a $24.5 million Innovation Hub, operated by Adelaide University.
Building space in SA
Building on the state’s thriving space economy, this project will support South Australia’s growing hub of space companies to expand commercially, access global supply chain opportunities and drive collaboration between manufacturers, innovators and the wider critical technologies sector.
