Auspace
Defunct Australian aerospace firm
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founded | 7 June 1982 in Canberra, Australia |
| Defunct | 2019 |
| Fate | Acquired by Nova Group |
| Successor | Nova Group |
| Headquarters | 27-31 London Road, , 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 Ltd. 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]