Scott Morrison joins Space Centre Australia as non-executive chairman as global race for space heats up
Former prime minister Scott Morrison has joined Space Centre Australia as the firm seeks to raise $US250m to capitalise on booming demand for space access services.
Scott Morrison has added non-executive chairman of Space Centre Australia to his growing list of post-prime ministerial ventures, as the growing Queensland based company seeks to capitalise on Australia’s unique location and booming demand for space access services.
Mr Morrison, who negotiated the AUKUS security pact in 2021 which has drastically expanded opportunities for collaboration for emerging Australian space businesses with counterparts in the US and UK, took up the role on September 1, adding to his growing list of appointments in the defence and defence-adjacent sectors.
“We have a massive geographic advantage, there are few other if any places, certainly in the southern hemisphere, and arguably northern, where you can do east equatorial launch in a Five Eyes country let alone an AUKUS country,” he told The Australia from Milan.
“The space domain is as much part of the defence domain as anything else, the idea you can go and do these launches in Kazakhstan no longer exists,” he added.
Established in 2021, Space Centre Australia, which recently opened offices in Washington DC, is developing Australia’s first space port at Cape York and is also rolling out a horizontal launch facility in Virginia, USA and Cornwall, UK,
The privately owned firm is hoping to raise $US250m from January next year to propel its first round of major expansion.
Mr Morrison and Space Centre chief executive officer and founder James Palmer, an engineer and former submariner in the Royal Australian Navy, were in Italy to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with seven countries and eight businesses in Sweden, the US and Japan, in the space sector, and met with NASA deputy administrator Pam Melroy on Sunday.
“Scott Morrison’s vast experience in international governance, diplomacy, and leadership uniquely positions him to guide our organization as we continue our mission to develop a world-class spaceport facility. Scott’s deep understanding of both Australia’s strategic,” said James Palmer in a statement.
Mr Morrison, who was prime minister from 2018 to 2022 and left parliament earlier this year, earlier this year announced he would be joining consulting firm American Global Strategies as non-executive vice chairman.
He also assumed a strategic adviser role with DYNE alongside former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo.
“I’m thrilled to be taking on this new role with the team at SCA as they implement their plans to become not just the premier permanent spaceport with the most comprehensive launch service offering in Australia, but a leading player in the space launch sector globally,” he added in a statement.
The space industry is forecast to be worth $US1.8 trillion by 2035 as a growing pool of businesses and governments seek to vie to win the booming market for non-government access to outer space, according to a World Economic Forum report published in April.
“As costs reduce and accessibility rises, these technologies could reshape whole industries, and have as much impact on business and society as smartphones or cloud computing,” said Sebastian Buckup, one of the report’s authors.
Mr Morrison said he hoped Australian superannuation funds would eventually see Australia’s emerging industry as solid infrastructure investments.
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