Image courtesy CUAVA

The University of Sydney-based CUAVA has been selected by the NSW Government to lead the state’s official Space Qualification Mission, known as ‘Waratah Seed’.

CUAVA, the Australian Research Centre for Cubesats, Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles and their Applications, will launch the NSW-developed technology into orbit to demonstrate its safety and functionality.

CUAVA Director, Professor Iver Cairns, said Waratah Seed represents a new approach to the space sector.

“Waratah Seed will be Australia’s first ride-share satellite — it will also be the first satellite funded by the NSW Government,” Professor Cairns said.

“The consortium is very excited to be working with the NSW Government on this project to build a vibrant, nation-leading space sector for NSW.”

NSW Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney, Stuart Ayres, said the Space Qualification Mission program would be one that “industry and researchers can use to test and prove the functionality of their tech — making getting started in the space industry more accessible and affordable”.

“NSW is home to almost half of Australia’s space-related businesses and generates around half of all space-related revenue nationally — there is no better place to support space technology research and development to create jobs of the future,” the Minister added.

CUAVA leads a consortium of NSW organisations including ACSER (UNSW), Saber Astronautics, Delta-V, Macquarie University and UTS.

The state government’s Investment NSW arm is in charge of the Space Industry Development Strategy, launched in January 2020, which aims to make NSW “the premier destination in the Asia-Pacific region to develop and commercialise space technology”.

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