BOTANY, NSW, 30 April 2024: Australia has announced $ 18 million funding for three space-related projects (ISI India Projects) with India. The announcement was made today by Assistant Foreign Minister Tim Watts while giving the keynote address at a panel discussion here organised by the Australia India Institute (AII).
The new Indian High Commissioner to Australia, His Excellency Mr Gopal Baglay also gave remarks. The announcement of the ISI India Project grantees and the panel discussion on joint strategic space projects is being seen as a strong commitment to the bilateral relationship.
Three projects have been offered a total of $18 million under the International Space Investment India Projects program:
- LatConnect60 (WA) has been awarded almost $5.8 million to develop and build a Low Earth Orbit satellite in Australia to collect information on carbon emissions at a very high resolution. The satellite will be launched from India, and aims to significantly lower the cost of data acquisition and insight generation of key indicators like methane and carbon dioxide – supporting our agriculture and resources sectors to achieve emissions reduction and Net Zero targets.
- Space Machines Company (NSW) has been awarded more than $8.5 million for Space MAITRI (Mission for Australia-India’s Technology, Research and Innovation) – demonstrating advanced concepts such as on-orbit transportation and space debris mitigation. Space MAITRI will incorporate an Australian-built Orbital Servicing Vehicle, sent into space on a dedicated Indian launcher.
- Skykraft (ACT) has been awarded $3.7 million to propose and validate a new Position, Navigation and Timing system. The ultimate aim is to better connect large-scale satellite constellations, which are vital for Earth observation and forecasting weather.
Each project includes a number of Australian and Indian partners, building valuable commercial links with the Indian Space Research Organisation and the booming Indian space sector.
Among those present were Australian Assistant Foreign Minister Tim Watts, Indian High Commissioner to Australia, His Excellency Mr Gopal Baglay, Assistant Minister Thistlethwaite, David Brewstyer, Mark Ramsay, Ruben Rajasingam, Craig Benson, Prof. Glenn Wightwick, and Consul General Kanakiraman.
