24 March 2023
ICC Director Jasmine Vreugdenburg and some of the Australian space delegation.
Two UniSA space startups have signed a total of four Memorandum of Understandings (MOU) at the 7th Bengaluru Space Expo, which will focus on Australian launch capabilities, mining, defence and IOT missions.
The agreements have been formed with a Taiwanese University and three Indian space startups.
UniSA’s startups, HEX20 and QL Space>, are led by Indian-nationals, and both startups have participated in UniSA’s globally recognised space startup accelerator, delivered by the Innovation & Collaboration Centre.
HEX20 will build a 3U spacecraft for the National Central University Taiwan (NCU), with scheduled delivery in 2023 for an IOT mission.
The craft – formally referred to as the NX 3I 3U CubeSat — will leverage architecture developed by an international consortium of space-focused universities, with the objective of gathering in-situ measurements of Earth’s ionosphere.
HEX20 founder, Lloyd Jacob Lopez, says both South Australia and Taiwan have big roles to play in the success of the IOT mission.
“The NX-3I is one of the most cutting-edge 3U platforms with space heritage and a competitive price in the international market,” he says.
“The spacecraft will be integrated at Hex20 facilities in Adelaide and controlled from NCU facilities in Taiwan.201D.”