Rocket Lab today announced it has established a new wholly-owned subsidiary, Rocket Lab Australia, to explore opportunities to support the expansion of Australia’s national space capabilities.
The Australian Government has set a goal to triple the size of the Australian space sector from an estimated AUD$4 billion in 2016 to AUD$12 billion and create an additional 20,000 jobs by 2030.
To help facilitate this growth, the Australian Government has committed more than AUD$2 billion to the civil space sector since 2018 for programs spanning Earth Observation, satellite infrastructure, high-tech manufacturing, and support for NASA’s Moon to Mars Artemis Program. The Australian Government has also committed AUD$17 billion above and beyond this civil space investment for the development of Defence space capabilities as part of the 2020 Force Structure Plan to maintain and upgrade existing space capabilities, as well develop new capabilities to solve problems domestically and service global partners.
The Five Eyes intelligence alliance between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom is one such example of Australia’s global partnerships. With the establishment of Rocket Lab Australia, the Company now expands its support of the alliance with operations in all but one of the participating countries.
“Australia has an accomplished history in the space sector having developed strong capabilities in Earth observation, space tracking and satellite operations. Coupled with Australia’s renewed focus on industrial capability and advanced manufacturing, the industry is now poised for an era of rapid expansion driven by new technology, a growing demand for space enabled data, private investment, and a significantly increased funding commitment from the Australian Government,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck.
“Rocket Lab has already played a key role in supporting Australia’s rapid growth in space by flying several commercially developed Australian satellites on Electron, as well as having launched national security payloads developed in partnership with Australia’s Department of Defence. Our space systems technology has also featured on Australian missions, enabling Australian technology already relied upon by the nation.
“By building on our deep expertise and proven heritage as a global leader in launch and space systems, Rocket Lab is well positioned to advance Australia’s capabilities in space. We have people on the ground already and we look forward to exploring opportunities where they make strategic sense for us as a business, and where we can truly strengthen Australia’s position in the global space sector.”
