Gilmour Space Technologies

Griffith University’s five-year partnership with Gilmour Space Technologies is driving important innovations in Queensland’s burgeoning space sector.

As part of this powerhouse partnership, locally developed low Earth orbit prototype satellites are set to take to the skies in 2023. Moreover, the sharing of staff and resources within the teams of Griffith and Gilmour is setting the stage for further thought leadership and industry disruption in the future.

“Innovation is a contact sport,’’ says Professor Paulo De Souza, Dean (Research) Griffith Sciences. ‘‘We need to get all the teams together, and there must not be any boundaries.

“We have staff from Gilmour working with us in the University, and we have our students and academics working down at Gilmour. Because our academics are working so closely with the industry, we can create innovation that matters.”

Australia may be in the early stages of space expertise, but thanks to backing by the Queensland Government, South-East Queensland has been able to make its mark as a key hub for space launches and advanced manufacturing.

As the industry accelerates rapidly, this partnership between Griffith and Gilmour will be crucial in providing both with expertise and learnings in order to create impact.

“Partnering with the university sector is vital for space technology companies such as Gilmour because Australia is in the ‘early stages’ of its space expertise,” CEO Adam Gilmour says. “Two or three years ago, many of the space companies in Australia were still in the early prototype stage. Now, we’re literally months away from our first orbital launch.

"You must adopt a philosophy that you don't know everything,” he says. “We’ve got all these technological challenges ahead of us, so we're going out into the research industry and identifying who has the expertise we can collaborate with, so we can learn and move forward together.

In addition to the imminent launch of prototype low Earth orbit satellites, the partnership will use the unique manufacturing and 3D-printing capabilities of Griffith’s Advanced Design and Prototyping Technologies Institute (ADaPT).

Access to ADaPT will provide researchers with the instruments, technology and materials required to enable critical breakthroughs in aerospace additive manufacturing and help create the next generation of aerospace engineers.

Adam says that Gilmour have already made leaps forward on the research and development of liquid rocket engine components thanks to an ADaPT 3D printer that prints metal.

The technological advancements already under way in the partnership will also have applications for commercial customers in a range of other industries, including mining and resources, disaster management, defence, farming and environmental monitoring.

The partnership aims to make further impact through looking at sensing and imaging technologies including using artificial intelligence in satellite systems.

One of the main reasons Gilmour wanted to partner with Griffith was their drive and track record in translating research into impact.

“We are going to industry and asking, 'What's keeping you awake at night? How can we help?’ It’s not just about what’s going to create the next research paper," Adam says.

“The University has a philosophy that is, ‘Let's just get going and work on stuff’. That kind of philosophy helps. It signals trust, and it really works. I hope other universities will follow.”