Airbus, with its team of Australian Space industry and academia, has signed a multi-year, strategic partnership agreement to support the Australian Department of Defence’s research program — Resilient Multi-mission Space (RMS) STaR Shot.
Under the agreement, the team will advance the development and maturation of leap-ahead technologies in support of the Australian Defence Force. It will also explore new operating concepts, and support the development and Space qualification of Australian sovereign payload and satellite components.
Airbus has partnered with Shoal Group, Inovor, University of South Australia, University of Melbourne, Australian National University, University of New South Wales Canberra and Deloitte to deliver strong expertise in support of the RMS STaR Shot in the delivery of multiple, smallsat satellite missions for Defence over the coming years.
The team will provide significant upskilling of the Australian Space sector and help to transfer leading-edge Space technology into operational capability to secure Australia’s national interests in Space.
Additionally, Airbus will deliver two satellite platforms for the RMS STaR Shot program. These satellites, named “Arrow”, will house locally developed Australian payloads. Airbus has developed the Arrow platform from its OneWeb Satellites that it builds in the United States.
Richard Franklin, Managing Director of Airbus Defence and Space UK, said, “Partnering with Australia for this RMS STaR Shot agreement demonstrates our firm commitment to further enhancing the sovereign space capability and expertise of the Australian Space sector. We will be working hand in hand with our Australia partners and Defence to identify the key skills, technologies and strategic advantages that this partnership can deliver to enable Australia to become a global space player in the next decade.”