Adelaide selected as new space agency headquarters

Adelaide will be home to the A$41 million (US$29.46 million) new Australian Space Agency, which is set to be launched this year. 

The idea of a national space agency was cemented at the 4500-delegate 2017 International Astronautical Congress, the largest business event won by the Adelaide Convention Bureau and Team Adelaide. The bureau now says the winning bid for the agency headquarters represents the largest legacy of any Australian business event.

The space agency will be housed in the old Royal Adelaide hospital site (now known as the lot Fourteen Innovation Hub) with other similarly aligned businesses and organisations. The location is within walking distance of the Adelaide Convention Centre and the BioMed City. The agency is expected to create 20,000 new jobs and triple its current A$4 billion worth to A$12 billion by 2030.

Damien Kitto, CEO of the Adelaide Convention Bureau, said the agency will serve as an asset for the city to draw space-related events, not unlike the the health-based events that the city hosted following investment in the BioMed City. 

South Australia has long played a role in the nation's space activity. The first satellite was launched from Woomera in the state's outback some 50 years ago. The state is currently home to major Tier 1 defence companies and about 60 companies in space-related industries, employing about 800 people.