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Western Australia has taken another step towards establishing its own spaceport, with Perth-based Space Angel awarded a $1.75 million grant to assess potential sites and develop a business case for a launch facility.
The company will receive $1.75 million, matched by its own funding, to undertake site assessments, support planning and regulatory approvals, and develop a business case for proposed spaceport locations.
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The grant forms part of the Cook government’s $2 million Made in WA election commitment to accelerate the development of the state’s space industry.
Spaceports can support the launch, reception, testing and maintenance of spacecraft and rockets, potentially providing Western Australia with a new piece of critical infrastructure as the global commercial space sector expands.
Science and Innovation Minister Stephen Dawson said the grant represented an important step towards establishing WA as a more significant participant in the global space economy.
“This is another important step as the Cook Labor government continues to build Western Australia’s presence in the global space industry,” Dawson said.
“With Space Angel Pty Ltd selected as the recipient of the Spaceport Establishment Support Grant, we can continue progressing plans to establish a spaceport in Western Australia.”
The state government is also conducting a separate feasibility study to identify additional potential spaceport locations across WA.
The initiative comes as demand for commercial launch services continues to grow, with the global space launch services market currently valued at more than US$15 billion and forecast to expand by around 15 per cent annually, according to the WA government.
The development of a WA spaceport could create opportunities across launch services, satellite manufacturing, advanced manufacturing, engineering and other high-skilled sectors, while potentially strengthening the state’s role in the rapidly expanding Indo-Pacific space economy.
Dawson said a spaceport would help attract investment and create opportunities for Western Australian businesses to participate in the global space sector.
For Space Angel, the grant marks the next stage in turning its proposed spaceport concept into a viable commercial and regulatory proposition, with site selection and business-case development now able to progress.
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