Gold Coast businesses: predictions Coast-designed craft could land on other planets
THE Gold Coast is set to be at the forefront of Australia’s new space industry and local companies have been urged to get involved, with predictions a locally created craft will be used on other worlds.
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SPACECRAFT designed and built on the Gold Coast could one day land on another planet as the city establishes itself at the forefront of Australia’s space industry.
That’s the message from Mayor Tom Tate who says a funding injection to a Gold Coast space company was just the start of our role in shaping the nation’s future in the stars.
Pimpama-based Gilmour Space Technologies secured $19 million from the CSIRO’s Innovation Fund, with the aim of launching commercial rockets by 2020.
Cr Tate, a long-time science fiction enthusiast and “Trekkie’’, said the Coast’s Health and Knowledge Precinct would become a major incubator of space industry businesses, which he tipped would move to the city to support the Gilmour operation.
“It is part of the diversification of the economy and proves the point that the Gold Coast’s entrepreneurial spirit is strong and that we are going to be tagged as the smart city from now on,” he said.
“Richard Branson should be looking out, we’ll eclipse Virgin with our own space industry which will add to the health and knowledge precinct.
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“Space is the final frontier and this begins on earth.’’
The Pimpama company earlier this year signed a deal to work with NASA to develop a space rover that could potentially be used to explore Mars.
Cr Tate said the Gold Coast was in the box seat to see a locally created craft in use on another world.
“It is not inconceivable that we will see something designed or built here go into space,” he said.
“It would not surprise me if we saw a joint venture between a local company and the agency of another country but the business would have to be based here.
“Stay on this side of the NSW border, it’s where the IQs are higher.”
The Gold Coast has a long connection to space exploration.
In 1969 there was speculation that titanium sandmined and developed by a Southport company had been used in construction of Apollo 11’s landing module, The Eagle.
Gilmour Space Technologies was founded in 2012 by brothers James and Adam Gilmour.
Adam Gilmour yesterday said the company would conduct a suborbital test flight in November, with plans for its first orbital test to follow in 2020.
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