Space startups in Australia
The directory tracks 6 space companies in Australia. They work on launch, communications & connectivity, defense & space domain awareness, Earth observation and more.
Updated 27 September 2026 · 1 milestone in the last 90 days · Follow by RSS
Where things stand
As of 27 September 2026
Gilmour Space received Australia's first orbital launch permit in November 2024. Its Eris rocket lifted off from Bowen in July 2025, the first Australian-made orbital rocket to fly from Australian soil, and was lost 14 seconds into the flight. HEO Robotics photographs other spacecraft rather than the Earth. In September 2026 its Continuum-1 satellite held station near a spent Chinese rocket stage and imaged it from about 40 km away, its first rendezvous.
Fleet started as a satellite network for connected devices and now also maps mineral deposits with satellite-connected seismic sensors. It bought the seismic company HiSeis in March 2025 and opened a satellite and sensor factory at Adelaide Airport that September. FluroSat merged with Dagan in 2021 to form Regrow. Australia Space Launch and Space Dynamix Marketing are dormant.
Latest milestones
Every dated event from the companies below, newest first, each with its source.
HEO Robotics: Continuum-1, a satellite bought from Satellogic, holds station near a spent Long March 2C stage and images it from about 40 km at 8 cm per pixel, HEO's first rendezvous and proximity operationHEO Robotics: Wins one of the NRO’s first three commercial non-Earth imaging contractsHEO Robotics: Holmes Mk2 flies on Impulse’s Mira, the first NOAA-licensed non-Earth imaging payload cleared above 800 km
Fleet: Opens a 5,300 m² satellite and sensor hyperfactory at Adelaide Airport
Gilmour Space: Eris TestFlight 1, the first Australian-made orbital rocket to fly from Australian soil, lifts off and is lost 14 seconds inFleet: Makes its first acquisition, buying hard-rock seismic company HiSeisGilmour Space: Receives Australia’s first orbital launch permit, clearing Eris to fly from BowenHEO Robotics: Images the ISS from a passing satellite 69 km away, closing at six kilometres a secondFleet: Books SPIDER, a seismic payload hunting lunar water ice, on Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 2HEO Robotics: Rebrands from HEO Robotics to HEO alongside its Series AShow 6 earlier milestones
HEO Robotics: Holmes, the first commercial camera dedicated to non-Earth imaging, reaches orbit on Turion Space’s Droid-1Fleet: First defence contract: A$6.4M from Defence Space Command for the ASCEND2LEO satcom demonstrationFleet: Launches ExoSphere, satellite-connected seismic sensing that maps mineral deposits in 3D
FluroSat: Acquires soil-carbon modeler Dagan in an all-stock deal and relaunches as RegrowFluroSat: Raises $4.6M led by Microsoft's M12 to scale its FluroSense agronomy platformFleet: Proxima and Centauri, Australia’s first commercial nanosatellites, reach orbit on Electron and Falcon 9All 6 companies
Companies still operating first, then by latest news.
How many space startups are there in Australia?
Space Bandits tracks 6 space companies in Australia. Of those, 3 are active startups.
What do space startups in Australia work on?
The biggest groups are launch (2), communications & connectivity (1) and defense & space domain awareness (1), out of 5 sectors in all.
What is the latest news from space startups in Australia?
The most recent milestone on record is from HEO Robotics, dated 2 September 2026: "Continuum-1, a satellite bought from Satellogic, holds station near a spent Long March 2C stage and images it from about 40 km at 8 cm per pixel, HEO's first rendezvous and proximity operation."
How many space startups in Australia have shut down?
None has shut down, but 2 are dormant, with no public activity for years.
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