The Labor Party has promised to spend AUD2 million to develop a business case for constructing a common user orbital spaceport in Western Australia, should it win the March 8 election.
“This business case will look at the best locations, costs, regulatory issues and the optimum business model, and ultimately provide support for space launch operators to make commercial decisions on site selections and infrastructure investment,” Science Minister Stephen Dawson told Nine Publishing.
He said the election promise was in response to requests from local companies looking to develop launch facilities in Western Australia. While private proposals to build spaceports in the state, including one near Eucla, have come and gone, none have made it from the drawing board to actual construction.
Last year, Dawson said Western Australia was becoming well known as the ‘place for space’ and wanted recognition as a Indo-Pacific space hub.
“The Cook Government continues to fund the expansion of our space industry,” he said.
Also last year, the Western Australia Government released the Western Australia Space Industry Strategy 2024-30. The strategy targeted the continued growth of the State’s space sector.
“Our state already holds an important place in the global space economy, and we will use this strategy to create more opportunities to ensure WA remains on the forefront of the space race into the future,” said Dawson. “Growing the local space sector will also have enormous benefit for WA with advances in technology, data, and services.”
