Down Under But Way Up: Australia’s Top Aerospace Startups

When Gilmour Space’s Eris rocket lifted off from a converted cow paddock near Bowen in July last year, it marked Australia’s first orbital launch attempt in over fifty years. Even though it was back on the ground fourteen seconds later, it still felt like a win – because the fact that an Australian-built rocket was on that pad says a lot about how far the country’s aerospace industry has come.

Across the nation, startups have been building rockets, hypersonic aircraft, satellite constellations and data platforms. Some of them have caught the attention of those far beyond Australia’s shores and hit impressive milestones. Others have crashed and burned, both literally and financially. Yet there’s no doubt that their aerospace scene is a fascinating one to watch right now.

The (Skyward) Shift In Australia’s Aerospace Industry

In the past, “space” and “Australia” mostly meant hosting NASA tracking stations while pointing telescopes at the sky. Not quite exciting. But that all began to change in 2018 when the Australian Space Agency established itself. Today, the sector generates roughly $4.6 billion Australian dollars in annual turnover, supporting 17,000 full-time roles.

Government backing has stepped up significantly too, through the National Reconstruction Fund, the Moon to Mars initiative and a steadily growing pile of grants aimed at building sovereign capability.

It may be smaller than US and European sectors, but the growth rate is one of the fastest in the Australian economy. Cue the attention of international investors.

Top Aussie Aerospace Startups To Watch

So, who are the SMEs and startups working across launch, satellites, earth observation and pretty much everything in between? Here they are.

1. Gilmour Space Technologies

Gilmour Space has spent the last decade building out a full end-to-end launch capability with its own hybrid propulsion tech, rockets, satellite platform and spaceport. The Bowen Orbital Spaceport in North Queensland was granted Australia’s first orbital launch facility license in March of 2024, which made Gilmour the first company in the country cleared to run orbital launches from its own site.

The rocket itself, Eris, is a three-stage vehicle designed to deliver up to 305kg to low Earth orbit for small satellite customers. The $52 million Australian dollars grant agreement the company signed with the federal government in 2023 was one of the largest of its kind for an Australian space company.

2. Hypersonix Launch Systems

Hypersonix, a Brisbane-based startup, is doing something quite wild. They’re building hydrogen-fuelled hypersonic aircraft that produces zero CO₂ emissions.

Late last year, the company closed a US$46 million Series A led by UK investor High Tor Capital. The money is funding flight tests of DART AE, its 3.5-metre scramjet-powered demonstrator and accelerating the development of its next platform, VISR – an 8-metre reusable hypersonic aircraft aimed at surveillance and reconnaissance work.

In February of this year, DART AE successfully flew from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, marking the first Australian hypersonic flight test conducted in the United States.

3. Southern Launch

In Adelaide, Southern Launch is building the infrastructure that a lot of the rest of the industry depends on. It runs the Koonibba Test Range and the Whalers Way Orbital Launch Complex on the Eyre Peninsula. After years of environmental reviews and community pushback, Whalers Way received its final government approvals in late 2024.

Koonibba hosted the world’s first commercial spacecraft re-entry in February 2025 which was a massive milestone, with further returns since. In June of this year, the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation committed $10 million Australian dollars to Southern Launch as part of a $25 million capital raise to expand launch, re-entry and range services.

4. Arlula

Sydney-based Arlula makes it easier to get hold of satellite imagery which, in theory sounds simple, but is a major headache in the industry. Its Geostack platform pulls together data from multiple satellite operators for users to access near real-time imagery instead of waiting days.

Earlier this year, they closed a $3.4 million oversubscribed round and is now working with defence, government and commercial clients across the Indo-Pacific, Europe and North America.

5. Esper Satellite Imagery

Esper is chasing a very specific niche which happens to be hyperspectral imaging from space at a fraction of what competitors charge. Founded in 2019 by Monash University friends, the company launched its first demonstrator on SpaceX’s Transporter-10 mission in March 2024.

Last year, the company raised $5 million in seed funding led by Paspalis Capital, following a US $1 million pre-seed round back in 2023.

Esper’s tech can spot critical minerals like lithium, cobalt and rare earths from orbit, and they’ve racked up about $31 million in US contracts across mining, defence and environmental monitoring. They currently have three satellites in orbit, with more scheduled for this year.