Australia – Commercial developments in Australia’s space and satellite sector

Recent developments in Australia’s space and satellite sector indicate new growth and opportunities within the Australian space economy. This article highlights two recent commercial developments within the sector.

The first development discusses the upcoming launch of Australia’s highly anticipated first orbital rocket, and the challenges faced by Gilmour Space Technologies. The second development considers the unexpected Request for Information recently published by the Department of Defence in relation to the procurement of satellite communications.  This follows the cancellation of a similar project in 2024 which was cancelled after the awarding of a preferred tenderer. Both events offer insight into the strategic direction and commercial opportunities in Australia’s space and satellite sector.

1. Gilmour Space Rocket – Launch of Eris Testflight 1 (Eris 1)

Gilmour Space Technologies (Gilmour) was expected to launch Australia’s highly anticipated first orbital rocket, Eris 1, earlier this year. However, the launch was recently postponed for a second time this year, as announced by Gilmour on 2 July 2025, stating that the delay will “give us a longer, more flexible launch window for our first test flight, and our team a chance to rest after an intense few weeks or testing and prep.” 

Eris 1 would be the first sovereign-made rocket launched in Australia. Only eleven other nations have successfully achieved this feat.

The next available date for launch is expected to be no earlier than 27 July 2025.

Licensing challenges

The Space (Launches and Returns) Act 2018 (Cth) (the Act) sets out the terms required for granting an Australian launch permit. Under the Act the Minister can grant certain licences and/or permits. These include a launch facility licence, an Australian launch permit or an Australian high power rocket permit. The application process includes an expression of interest, an application plan workshop and an application assessment.

Applications are made to the Australian Space Agency (ASA) and are said to take up to 6 months from the time the application is submitted. Although this launch has been in the pipeline for considerably longer, with Gilmour suggesting that approval for its application had taken up to two years. The ASA granted Gilmour an Australian launch permit in November 2024, eight months after the original scheduled date for launch in March 2024.

This was the first Australian launch permit to be issued by the ASA for a commercial orbital launch vehicle. Gilmour has also recently announced a strategic partnership with Space BD Inc, a Japanese space business integrator, to deliver satellite launch services from Gilmour’s spaceport in Bowen, North Queensland.  Deals of this nature highlight the commercial importance of establishing Australian launch facilities and recognise the unique opportunity that Australia’s geography presents.  In particular, its proximity to the Equator (which enhances a rocket’s velocity and thus decreases fuel requirements) and the fact that Australia is a large landmass that is sparsely populated (relatively speaking!).

2. Department of Defence - Request for information for SATCOMs

On 26 June 2025, the Department of Defence (Defence) released a Request for Information (RFI) on AusTender (the Australian government’s central procurement site) seeking information in relation to the SPA9102 narrowband satellite communications (SATCOM) stating that “the information being sought by this RFI has been identified by Defence as important for planning purposes, and to inform Defence decision making, in relation to SPA9102.”

Background

Joint Project 9102 (JP9102) was a military satellite program that was expected to deliver “Australia’s first sovereign-controlled satellite communication system over the Indo-Pacific ocean regions.”[1] Lockheed Martin had been selected as the preferred tenderer to deliver the project until it was cancelled by the last Labour government in late 2024. Had the project gone ahead, Australia would have been equipped with geostationary communications satellites as well as ground stations.

A ‘new’ JP9102?

On 26 June 2025, Defence released an RFI seeking information in relation to a new SATCOM capability named SPA9102. The purpose of the RFI is to assess industry capability in relation to the development of narrowband SATCOM. More specifically, Defence seeks to “increase its knowledge of potential resilient Ultra High Frequency (UHF) SATCOM capabilities to mitigate against Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) from ground-based emitters.”[2]

Defence has stressed that the RFI is solely an information gathering process. It is not part of a Commonwealth procurement process and SPA9102 has only obtained First Pass Government approval to date.  Nevertheless, given the excitement which JP9102 had attracted, it is encouraging for industry to see that a revised project may be resurrected.

Defence specifically seeks to understand the potential mitigants against EMI, along with respondent’s capabilities, costings and risks in relation to the following needs (not an exhaustive list):

• UHF SATCOM – Defence is interested in a UHF band payload in a geostationary orbital slot within the field of view of Australia and for the payload to provide a minimum Effective Isotropic Radiated Power of 26dBW per channel and a receiver figure of merit, G/T of -18dBK-1.
• Resilience against EMI – Defence is interested in solutions that will protect uplink connections in the presence of EMI from ground-based emitters. Jamming of satellite services by malign actors has long been a risk faced by satellite operators.
• Resilient Telemetry, Tracking and Command (TT&C) – Defence is interested in solutions that will provide resilient TT&C. This can include, having multiple TT&C links in a diverse set of frequency bands and/or coverage areas that isolate the received energy of TT&C emitters from interference from ground-based emitters.
• Monitoring, Control and Planning System(s) – Defence is interested in solutions in relation to all SATCOM and resilience features.
• Interoperability and Life of Type – Defence is interested in supporting UHF communications with military standard compliant radios and network controllers in both dedicated and multi-user modes. Such communications will need to be able to interoperate with existing user radios that Defence uses.

Defence’s RFI also sets out other solution considerations for respondents including providing a high-level description of the developmental risk and timeframe for each feature, the payload and bus architecture and any significant cost factors.

Submissions to the RFI will close on 11 August 2025 at 12:00pm (ACT time).

For more information, please contact Thomas Jones, Matthew Bovaird or Cassandra Wong.

[1] Lockheed Martin to deliver Defence satellite communication system | Defence

[2] SPA 9102: Request for Information – Annexure A