The South Australian Space Industry Centre is seeking a partner to operate the Australian Space Park’s Common User Facility (CUF).
According to the expression of interest (EOI) issued Tuesday, the facility is intended to foster collaboration among local space manufacturers and support companies to manufacture at scale, accelerating the country’s sovereign space manufacturing capability and capacity.
In a media release, the space industry centre said the SA government has allocated $20 million to the Australian Space Park, while the federal government is providing an additional $20 million to support CUF’s expansion.
The facility’s expansion will see growth in the manufacturing of small satellites, payloads, rockets, and components in Adelaide.
The selected CUF operator solicited could either be a single entity or a consortium with the capability and resources to operate the facility, and drive the development of Manufacturing, Assembly, Integration, and Test activities across space manufacturing projects.
Interested applicants will be vetted through a two-stage procurement process.
The current EOI stage focuses on developing a shortlist of respondents with the appropriate approach to operate the CUF. The shortlisted respondents will be invited to participate in a request for proposal process and the submission of a proposal.
Applications for the EOI will be accepted through the SA Tenders and Contracts website until 31 October at 2 pm (ACST).
Companies such as Fleet Space Technologies, Q-CTRL, ATSpace, and Alauda Aeronautics have already signed on as partners and co-investors.
