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 · 3 milestones 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: Raises a US$25M Series B led by Beaten Zone Venture Partners to extend its imaging network into GEO
Gilmour Space: Signs an agreement with Hypersonix to develop hypersonic flight-test capabilityHEO 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 operationGilmour Space: Selected as docking partner for Starfish Space's Otter Pup 2 mission
FluroSat: Regrow, the company FluroSat became, completes a merger with PUMA, an Argentine agricultural data platformHEO Robotics: Wins one of the NRO’s first three commercial non-Earth imaging contractsGilmour Space: Closes an A$217M (US$145M) Series E led by the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation and HostplusHEO 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 AirportGilmour Space: Eris TestFlight 1, the first Australian-made orbital rocket to fly from Australian soil, lifts off and is lost 14 seconds inShow 11 earlier milestones
Fleet: 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 AHEO 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 3DFluroSat: 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 21 September 2026: "Raises a US$25M Series B led by Beaten Zone Venture Partners to extend its imaging network into GEO."
How many space startups in Australia have shut down?
None has shut down, but 2 have shown no public activity for years.
Space startups, worldwide
Founder interviews and the most promising space startups, straight to your inbox. Free, no spam, unsubscribe anytime.