Speeches
Wednesday, 25 June 2025
India Space Congress 2025
Good morning, everyone, friends all.
I am pleased to have the opportunity to address you all - policymakers, diplomats and industry leaders - at this, the 2025 Indian Space Congress.
For India, it is a particularly propitious moment as we eagerly await confirmed launch for the Axiom Mission 4 journey to the International Space Station.
ISRO (is-ro) astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will pilot Ax-4, and in doing so will be India’s first astronaut to visit the International Space Station, and India’s second national astronaut to go to space.
The Ax-4 mission stands as a beacon of opportunity for India, Poland, and Hungary, each poised to advance their national space programs.
It is a powerful reminder of how far the Indian space program has come, and what a key role your country now plays in global partnerships.
South Australia, of which I have the honour to be Governor, is a state with one or two claims to fame.
I’m sure many of you know the beautiful Adelaide Oval, one of Australia’s great cricket grounds; and the state was home to a cricketer widely regarded - and I say this with some caution in India - as the greatest batsman of all time, Sir Donald Bradman.
We have been long known as Australia’s Defence State and will soon be building the nuclear-powered SSN-AUKUS Class submarines. But in the context of this conference, we are also Australia’s space state.
South Australia’s history in space dates back more than half a century.
On the 29th of November 1967, we were the third country in the world to launch a satellite from its own territory (after the Soviet Union and the USA), from the Woomera Test Range in the north of South Australia.
WRE-SAT, which was adorned with a bounding kangaroo logo, operated in a polar orbit and re-entered the atmosphere over the Atlantic Ocean on 10 January 1968 after 642 revolutions of the earth.
Five decades later, in 2017, we became home to the Australian Space Agency, the Mission Control Centre and Space Discovery Centre.
We are also home to the Smart-Sat Cooperative Research Centre which has invested $245m in satellite and earth observation research.
South Australia has become a magnet for talent and innovation, helping to launch and attract over 100 space-related organisations to our thriving space ecosystem.
South Australia’s vast desert landscapes and proximity to the Southern Ocean, offer unique geographic advantages for the global space sector.
One of our home-grown companies, Southern Launch has received approval for the Whalers Way Orbital Launch Complex providing both polar and sun-synchronous launches and has established a launch and recovery test site at Koonibba on the state’s west coast.
In February this year the Koonibba Test Range supported the first ever return and recovery of a spacecraft to a commercial spaceport with the return of the Varda W-2 capsule, and just last month supported a second recovery.
South Australia’s space companies and capabilities cover every stage of the mission lifecycle.
These include small satellite manufacturer Inovor, internet of things provider Myriota and Fleet Space Technologies that is using seismic sensors and a small-satellite constellation for mining exploration; all demonstrating that South Australia can deliver world-leading innovation.
The University of Adelaide, Inovor Technologies and Saber Astronautics are key partners of the national ELO2 consortium, which was recently chosen by the Australian Government to build and operate the Australian-made lunar rover, cleverly named Roo-ver.
And we’re pleased that Adelaide will be the location of Mission Control Operations for the Space MAITRI mission; a joint Australia-India initiative, which will see the Indian Space Research Organisation launch Space Machines Company’s Optimus spacecraft to focus on the growing challenge of space debris.
We have a thriving university and research and development sector.
The University of South Australia has hosted the International Space University Southern Hemisphere Space Studies Program for 20 years, attracting students from around the globe, including four space professionals from India last year.
The same university runs the Innovation and Collaboration Centre Venture Catalyst Space Program, which has hosted many Indian start-ups over the years, including Hex20 who are developing turnkey satellite mission solutions and Digantra specialising in space situational awareness, space traffic management, and collision avoidance; and ResearchSat who are developing satellite payloads for life‑sciences and biology research in microgravity.
Two more Indian space start-ups, BioSky Space Innovations and Trizlabs, have joined the highly regarded accelerator program this year and are well on their way to scaling their technologies to create real world impact.
The University of Adelaide is home to the Research Centre for Excellence in Plants for Space, leading the way in space-inspired plant and food research. And, Adelaide also hosts the Extraterrestrial Environmental Simulation Laboratory, Exterres. The first of its kind in Australia Exterres offers simulation and testing of equipment in lunar and Martian surface environments, a crucial step in space technology development.
Flinders University has a team of experts in space law and policy, including specialists in space archaeology.
And as I speak, this week Adelaide is hosting the Australian Space Cyber Forum to discuss the critical issue of cybersecurity to the space sector.
The South Australian government recognises the importance of investment to support the state’s capabilities in space and defence, and organisations which are accelerating innovation, entrepreneurship, research and education.
It is why the government is investing $20m in a common user space laboratory at Lot Fourteen – South Australia’s world-class innovation district located in the heart of Adelaide’s CBD. The facility will support space manufacturing, to accelerate the development of local space innovation into real world commercial technologies.
I acknowledge that I am joined here today by representatives of the governments of New South Wales and Western Australia, and – of course – by Australia’s High Commissioner to India, His Excellency Mr Philip Green OAM, who spoke at this Congress last year.
All Australian governments, state and federal, recognise the importance of space-enabled technologies to economic growth and sustainability. And that Australia has a combination of geographic location and emerging capabilities which are supporting our engagement in the global space economy.
All Australian governments agree that India is a priority partner. There are clear complementarities and strategic alignment between us. We understand that extensive work is underway between the Australian Space Agency and IN-SPACe to foster civil space ties.
As Team Australia, we are proud to welcome delegates to the International Astronautical Congress in Sydney this September, an event previously held in Adelaide South Australia in 2017.
We see it as an opportunity to showcase the space achievements and activities of the Indo-Pacific – India will be key to this, and we welcome all of you to join us.
Every person here today, every scientist, engineer, policymaker, every civil servant matters in the advancement of our collective space objectives. Through scientific discovery, technological innovation, and expanding space-based applications for societal needs, you each have a role to play.
Australia is proud to partner with leading space nations such as India, to address challenges and overcome common barriers, and South Australia wants to be at the heart of these collaborations.
Gathered here today, I can see the many sparks which will ignite our future.
I wish you all a productive and enjoyable conference.
Long may we continue to strengthen our relationships and propel forward into the next space frontier of deeper collaborations and developments for the benefit of all.
Thank you.