A message from iLAuNCH Executive Director, Darin Lovett.

The iLAuNCH Trailblazer is approaching the end of its first year of operation and I wanted to express my sincere appreciation for your engagement and partnership in this audacious enterprise.

Our mandate is twofold – to build Australia’s enduring space capability, and to accelerate Australia’s innovation agenda at speed and at scale. Throughout the year I’ve witnessed an important change in the perception of what iLAuNCH brings to you. As we’ve matured from early concepts to project execution, I see the development of relationships between our industry and research partners as an important outcome critical to enduring success, as well as the delivery of key technologies.

After its first year, the $180 million iLAuNCH Trailblazer has 17 industry partners, commenced 8 projects (with another 7 to follow soon), and committed over $100 million in total project value. A second funding round recently closed with Expressions of Interest oversubscribed, and at the time of this article’s publication, applications are in review.

Through the Trailblazer, industry and university partners are employing more people in the space industry, with 60 new positions being created, including 20 new PhD students.

The focus of iLAuNCH is not just industry. Alongside universities and industry partners, we are investing in future skills development from primary school to tertiary, using space to inspire and develop the regional workforce of the future, including through STEM partners One Giant Leap’s Global Space Challenge and Makers Empire’s Kids in Space. For tertiary students, iLAuNCH has partnered with the AROSE Milo Mission Academy for Lunar Exploration to offer 20 student places to the world-renowned program and is sponsoring a team participating in the Australian Youth Aerospace Association’s (AYAA) Astra Program.

Together we are building trusted relationships and developing greater commercialisation capability across our three universities and industry. Thank you for your trust in us.

Projects launched in 2023

1. Successfully completed a NASA capsule re-entry mission which saw the return of samples from the 4.6 billion year old asteroid Bennu with RTI and UniSQ.
2. Qualified the Space Machines Optimus first-generation space transport and servicing platform for flight with ANU.
3. Using Virtual twins to revolutionising composite aerospace vehicle repairs with UniSQ, MEMKO, and Boeing.
4. Developing carbon composite technology to reduce satellite mass with New Frontier Technologies at ANU.
5. Establishing an advanced manufacturing facility at UniSA with VPG Innovation that will design and deliver stronger more durable satellite and hypersonic vehicle structures using additive manufacturing.
6. Revolutionising optics with VPG Innovation and SMR for Earth observation at UniSA
7. Development of radio thermal isotope generators for multiple lunar night survival with entX and UniSA.
8. Maturing reliable and consistent long-term power sources for spacecraft where solar energy cannot be relied upon with entX and UniSQ.