WA space industry rocketing forward with $6.5 million funding boost
Western Australia has committed $6.5 million over four years to support AROSE and Curtin University’s Binar Space Program, strengthening the state’s space sector and future growth.
TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION
Western Australia’s space industry is set for another lift after the Cook Labor Government announced $6.5 million in new funding for two major local initiatives. The money will be spread over four years and support the Australian Remote Operations for Space and Earth, known as AROSE, and Curtin University’s Binar Space Program.
The funding package includes $4 million for AROSE Ltd and $2.5 million for Curtin University. According to the government, the investment is part of its wider effort to back the state’s space capability and reinforce the Diversify WA framework, which aims to broaden the economy beyond traditional sectors.
Curtin’s Binar Space Program has become one of Western Australia’s most visible homegrown space projects. The program designs, develops, tests, builds and operates small satellites, with four Binar satellites launched since 2021 and three more expected later this year.
The university-backed initiative also plays a training role, giving high school students, undergraduates, graduates and postgraduates experience in satellite design, manufacture and operation. That mix of research, skills development and launch activity has helped position the program as a practical pipeline for future space talent.
AROSE, meanwhile, is a Perth-headquartered, not-for-profit, industry-led consortium focused on remote operations on Earth and in space. Its work spans bushfire detection and response, agriculture, defence and new space and resources technology projects.
Science and Innovation Minister Stephen Dawson said the government was “again looking to the stars” with the new funding boost for the sector. He added that Western Australia has “the geography, expertise and ambition to be a key player in the space sector,” and said the government is ensuring “the right settings are in place to support long-term growth”.
Dawson said continuing to co-invest in AROSE and the Binar Space Program shows the government’s commitment to strengthening local space capability. He also said the space industry is one of the nine sectors identified under Diversify WA, and that investments like this help “diversifying and future proofing the WA economy”.
The announcement adds to a broader run of state support for the sector, as Western Australia seeks to build on its growing role in space research, remote operations and satellite development.
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