UniSQ’s iLAuNCH Trailblazer program joins $50m Optus consortium to build, launch Australian Low Earth Orbit satellite

Toowoomba researchers could soon be responsible for a satellite program that will help Australia further chart the stars and potentially discover new life as part of a $50m consortium.

A Toowoomba-led university team is part of a $50m “cutting-edge” astronomical project that will help Australia discover more planets and chart our skies like never before.

The University of Southern Queensland’siLAuNCH Trailblazer program have joined forces with a consortium led by Optus to build, launch and operate an Australian-owned low Earth orbit satellite.

The program team, led by UniSQ’s Centre for Astrophysics Professor Duncan Wright, will be responsible for developing one of the satellite’s two payloads in conjunction with High Earth Orbit Robotics (HEO).

The payload will include HEO’s new 20cm Adler Imager, a specialised telescope for space designed to take high-resolution pictures for astronomy research.

UniSQ’s Centre for Astrophysics Professor Duncan Wright is part of the team spearheading an exciting new $50 million satellite project.

Prof Wright said the project would allow UniSQ researchers to engage in “groundbreaking astronomical research”.

“We’re proud to be part of this landmark project and the incredible opportunities it offers our researchers to uncover new planetary systems, track and identify interstellar objects and explore the environments that make planets – and potentially life – possible beyond our solar system,” he said.

“In particular, this satellite will enhance our ability to observe transiting exoplanets, enabling us to detect their presence and accurately determine their orbits and sizes.”

iLAuNCH Trailblazer executive director Darin Lovett called the project “a huge step forward” for astronomy research in Australia.

“We’re proud to unite researchers from our partner universities – UniSQ, the Australian National University, and the University of South Australia – as they work together to strengthen Australia’s space ecosystem and drive innovation with global impact,” he said.

The satellite will be built by Inovor Technologies in Adelaide, with Optus set to operate the spacecraft from its Belrose Space Operations Centre in Sydney.

The consortium also includes the Australian Department of Defence’s Defence Science and Technology Group.

iLAuNCH was founded in 2023 thanks to $50m from the federal government’s Trailerblazer University program, with the goal of seeing researchers, engineers and experts collaborate on projects that could deliver billions in commercial benefits.

Executive director Darin Lovett said the projects would hopefully allow Australia to capture two per cent of the burgeoning “space 2.0” market.

Originally published as UniSQ’s iLAuNCH Trailblazer program joins $50m Optus consortium to build, launch Australian Low Earth Orbit satellite