Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Sasa Kadrijevic
Earth observation research projects are among those that have been awarded a share in nearly $370,000 co-funded through the NSW Government’s Space Demonstrator Program.
The Program, delivered by the NSW Node of the SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) offers co-funding for projects of up to $100,000 for industry to partner with university researchers.
Among the co-funding recipients of the Space Demonstrator Program are:
- $87,619 for Space Ops Australia Pty Ltd and the University of Sydney to design a multi-spectral imaging satellite mission targeting a very low Earth orbit
- $80,000 for Arlula and the CSIRO to research and develop an automated technical solution that solves the problem of integrating large commercial Earth observation data workflows into open source and academic projects
“Supporting the ideas and innovations of the space industry is about more than creating the jobs of the future – it also helps us to engage our best and brightest researchers to solve global problems here on Earth,” said Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney and Minister for Trade and Industry, Stuart Ayres.
SmartSat CRC NSW Node Coordinator Dr Tim Parsons said this first round of approved demonstrator projects represents a suite of novel new space technologies and capabilities.
“From cameras to solar panels, CubeSat design to earth observation data APIs, we look forward to seeing the outputs from these demonstrator projects in action in space. We are expecting more great proposals from this EOI call, and we have more programs coming — watch this space!” he said.
“This co-funding will allow HEO Robotics to supercharge collaborations with our academic and industry partners, bringing forward space innovation born in NSW. Sydney in particular is getting a reputation globally for space-based sensing,” said Co-founder and CEO of HEO Robotics, Dr William Crowe.
Mr Ayres also announced the opening of the Node’s Space Sector Mobility Program and the Access to R&D Infrastructure Program.
“The Space Sector Mobility Program will fund placements of up to six months within businesses or universities to provide a pathway for industry-research partnership development. The Access to R&D Infrastructure Program will provide successful applicants with access to research equipment, laboratory space and related infrastructure,” Mr Ayres said.
The Space Demonstrator, Space Sector Mobility, and Access to R&D Infrastructure Programs will assess applications on a rolling basis. To find out more about the Node’s funding opportunities, visit https://smartsatcrc.com/about/nsw-node/.
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