Goondiwindi Regional Council issues approval for Beyond the Blue Aerospace rocket launch site

The space industry is rocketing to new heights across southwest Queensland, with one border town approving the development of one of the first rocket launch sites in the country.

A booming industry is preparing to rocket to new heights in southwest Queensland, with one border town set to become a hub for advancement in the space sector.

Goondiwindi might not be where you’d expect to find a space rocket launch site, but it’s set to join a growing list of space industry projects in southwest Queensland, including projects at Toowoomba Wellcamp precint and iLAuNCH centres.

It’s a skyrocketing industry, expected to rake in a lucrative potential $6bn to the state’s economy and 6000 jobs into the next decade.

Goondiwindi Regional Council has issued a town planning approval for one of the first rocket launch sites in the country, located northwest of the town at a site along Meandarra-Talwood Rd.

The location of a new space launch site in the Goondiwindi Region (Photo: Google Maps)

Australian independent space business Black Sky Aerospace will be calling the site home, a company which designs, manufactures, tests, and operates suborbital sounding rockets and guided weapons across Queensland.

Founder and CEO of Black Sky Aerospace Blake Nikolic said their technology enabled the first commercial launch in Australia, and they were now expanding their team to scale operations to new heights.

“Goondiwindi has been a natural partner for us to expand our business as the Council has made every effort to assist with this new industrial activity in the region,” Mr Nikolic said.

Goondiwindi Regional Council has approved a launch site in the region bringing the area closer to the stars than ever before (Photo: Goondiwindi Regional Council)

Goondiwindi Regional Council Mayor Lawrence Springborg AM said he was excited to welcome the project that would continue Goondiwindi’s reputation as a hub of innovation.

“This is just one example of businesses being attracted to set-up and establish in the Goondiwindi region, leading to flow on opportunities to stimulate our local businesses and economy,” he said.

The announcement comes as company Rocket Technologies International partnered with UniSQ to develop a rocket testing site at Helidon near Toowoomba.

Additionally, the iLAuNCH project, valued at $180m, is expected to turbocharge the nation’s space sector with 20,000 jobs by 2030, and an estimated economic boost of $3.65bn to the south west region.

The Queensland government said by 2025, Queensland’s space industry will be recognised as a leading centre in Australasia for launch activities, ground systems, Earth observation, niche manufacturing, robotics and automation for space.

The Government’s Queensland Space Industry Strategy predicts to add up to $6bn to Queensland’s economy and up to 6000 jobs by 2036.

Originally published as Goondiwindi Regional Council issues approval for Beyond the Blue Aerospace rocket launch site