Australian solid rocket motor manufacturer Black Sky Industries has rebranded and launched test and manufacturing facilities in Queensland with backing from the co-founder of edtech unicorn Go1.
The firm, formerly Black Sky Aerospace, is the only Australian-owned developer and supplier of solid rocket propellant and rocket motors for defence industry. It also provides assembly services for launch vehicles and common-use boosters.
Originally founded in 2018 by Blake Nikolic and Karl Hemphill, Go1 co-founder Dr Vu Tran has joined the relaunched Black Sky Industries as a co-founder, in time to officially open its new facility in the southern Brisbane suburb of Logan.
Locally manufactured rocket motors are a priority under the Defence Industry Development Strategy, in that they are needed to produce guided weapons, explosive ordnance and munitions.
Black Sky has received one federal government grant worth $678,487 through the Australian Space Agency’s Moon to Mars Supply Chain Capability Improvement program in 2021.
It was used to develop a commercial-ready responsive common use booster propellant using for the space industry.
Dr Tran, who announced he would be stepping back from the day-to-day operation of Go1 in May, said Black Sky will help break Australia’s reliance on foreign-owned manufacturers.
“Australia spends $50-$55 billion on defence each year yet we’re lucky to have just one company in the top 100 list of defence suppliers. Black Sky aims to change that,” Dr Tran said.
The benefits to local manufacturing include lower geopolitical risks, increased operational transparency, reduced exposure to global supply chain disruptions, faster time to market and quality control, according to the company.
Aside from the production of solid rocket propellant and motors, Black Sky has developed a Wagtail Rocket Assisted Take-Off technology used for uncrewed aerial systems.
It also uses its own Cortex1.ai software platform to support design, development and testing of its products.
Cortex1.ai enables data capture and analysis that can be used to improve R&D and real-time tracking for mission control capabilities and sustainment services.
Mr Nikolic claimed the company can undertake complex rocket manufacturing “with a high degree of innovation, security and safety but at much lower cost than others”.
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