Whitsundays spaceport decision delayed

Proponents of an spaceport in the Whitsundays need to wait a little longer for take-off. Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has extended the approvals period in consideration of plans to build an Orbital Spaceport at the Abbot Point State Development Area. The decision which would see space vehicle launches from the north eastern section of the area is marked down for 31 August. Related: Satellite tracking deal for Bowen spaceport firm It is the baby of Brisbane-based Gilmour Space Technologies which has worked with a range of partners including universities to create a manufacturing and test hub and an advanced manufacturing facility to produce launch vehicles and satellites. Gilmour Space Technologies has been selected to develop and launch a new sovereign surveillance satellite for the Department of Defence. CEO Gilmour Space Adam Gilmour At the time of the announcement last year, Gilmour Space chief executive officer Adam Gilmour described the Defence work as a big milestone for the company. “Under the deal, Gilmour Space will be developing a prototype G-class satellite for Defence and launching it on our Eris rocket from an Australian launch site in 2023,” he said. “We firmly believe that partnerships like this will help to grow future Space and Defence primes in Australia and lead to more capability for Defence in the years ahead.” A month later Gilmour announced it was planning its second G-class satellite mission on the Eris rocket out of Bowen in 2024 after reaching a deal with Earth observation and data fusion company LatConnect 60. The companies will work together to build and launch the first microsatellite in a planned high-resolution hyperspectral imaging constellation of eight satellites. The smart satellites will be placed in 30-degree inclined orbits for frequent revisit data capture over the Earth’s equatorial and mid-latitude regions. Under the agreement, Gilmour Space will develop the first 100kg HyperSight 60 satellite on its G-class satellite bus (G-Sat). This would be launched on Gilmour’s Eris rocket from the Bowen Orbital Spaceport at the Abbot Point State Development Area and the microsatellite and subsequent constellation will be owned and operated by LC60. It’s expected the project will support more than 850 new jobs, including 350 space manufacturers in highly skilled engineering and technical roles. The plan has attracted federal and state government funding and is part of the Australian Space Manufacturing Network proposals to establish three new space facilities in Queensland: – A common test and manufacturing facility, enabling members to advance their space research and technology development at lower cost. – An advanced manufacturing facility for building commercial rockets and satellites, anchored by Gilmour Space. – An orbital spaceport at Abbot Point, near Bowen in North Queensland, that will help bring many of these products to space.

Whitsundays spaceport decision delayed

Industry Queensland

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