Auspace

Auspace Pty Ltd was an Australian aerospace company formed on 7 June 1982 as a joint-venture between Hawker de Havilland Australia and SA Matra Espace.[2][3] It was primarily known for its work as a major contractor for the Keating National Space Program that took place between 1986 and 1996.

Auspace Pty Ltd

Type	Private
Industry	Aerospace
Fate	Acquired by Nova Group
Successor	Nova Group
Founded	7 June 1982 in Canberra, Australia
Defunct	2019
Headquarters	27-31 London Road, Mile End South, South Australia , Australia
Area served	Australia
Products	Machine to Machine communication products, space industry products
Number of employees	35 (2001[1])
Parent	Nova Group (2007 - 2019)
Website	auspace.com.au at the Wayback Machine (archived 2018-03-10)

In 2007 Auspace was acquired by the Nova Group, and was absorbed completely into the two10degrees subsidiary in 2019.[4][5]

History

Even before the National Space Program, Auspace was a large player in the Australian space industry, managing parts of the multi-million dollar UV-optical space telescope Starlab project.[3][6] The working relationship formed with the Department of Industry, Technology and Commerce under the project[7] would be beneficial when the National Space Program commenced a few years later in 1986.[8]

Under the National Space Program, Auspace received 28% of all funds distributed, the most of any company besides British Aerospace Australia.[9] Under the program Auspace developed instruments for CSIRO,[10] Hispasat, Locstar,[11] and multiple other major projects.

In December 1988 Auspace was sold to Plessey Australia.[12] After the bankruptcy of Plessy later that year, Auspace was bought by Matra Marconi Space.[13]

In 1992 the Auspace built Endeavour satellite made its inaugural launch, but failed to fulfill the mission requirements.[14][15] In 1995 the satellite was successfully relaunched.[7]

In 2007 Auspace was purchased by the Nova Group.[16]

In 2019 it was merged with two10degrees.[5]

References

1. "EADS ET LA PERCÉE TECHNOLOGIQUE EUROPÉENNE EN AUSTRALIE". Le Courrier Australien (Sydney, NSW : 1892 - 2011). 1 October 2001. p. 17. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
2. "Auspace Pty Ltd Business Names". connectonline.asic.gov.au. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
3. "Canberra company 'base' for local space industry". Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995). 14 January 1983. p. 7. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
4. "two10degrees - Home". two10degrees. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
5. "Auspace Pty Ltd - LinkedIn". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
6. STARLAB Design Study Group (1980). STARLAB : an Australian-Canadian-USA free flying UV-optical space telescope. Canberra, Australia: Astronomy Advisory Committee.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
7. "Space telescope to collect images in ultraviolet light". Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995). 2 July 1987. p. 8. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
8. "National Space Program Underway" (PDF) (Press release). Canberra, Australia: Australian Government Publishing Service. 16 October 1985.
9. "Research Report 43; An Economic Evaluation of the National Space Program". Bureau of Industry Economics RPTS. 41–46. Australian Government Publishing Service. 1992.
10. "Australian firms win space jobs". Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995). 16 June 1988. p. 7. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
11. "Canberra firm wins $1m space contract". Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995). 14 September 1990. p. 4. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
12. "COMPUTERS AND TECHNOLOGY". Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995). 19 December 1988. p. 15. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
13. "Auspace Limited - Who We Are". 24 February 1999. Archived from the original on 24 February 1999. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
14. "Aust telescope set to leave earth today". Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995). 23 January 1992. p. 12. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
15. "'No blunder' in space project". Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995). 3 February 1992. p. 1. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
16. "Auspace". www.sasic.sa.gov.au. Retrieved 12 August 2019.