“Elation would be an understatement” said Julia O’Callaghan, Director of University Engagement and CRC Programs at DefendTex Research Labs, when the team heard they had been funded in Round 11 of the CRC Projects.
This is DefendTex’s fourth CRC-P and in collaboration with RMIT, the Department of Defence and RocketTech, will focus on addressing Australia’s space industry capability gap, being the lack of domestically manufactured rocket boosters.
“This project is a massive steppingstone for DefendTex. It builds on and scales up the foundational work in high speed flight, additive manufacturing and energetic materials in the previous three CRC-Ps,” said Julia.
Compared to the traditional casting methods of building rocket boosters, 3D printing allows the rapid production of bespoke booster sections, reducing cost, waste and environmental impact.
“Moving away from these traditional methods will increase Australia’s ‘responsive access to space’ and further develop Australia’s sovereign space capability,” said Julia.
While Australia has expertise in developing satellites and other payloads, the reality is we are beholden to international organisations to get to space.
“The work DefendTex is doing in 3D printing domestic rockets and Australia’s prime geographic location to launch from, is huge opportunity for Australia to be a global player in the space industry.”
When asked why DefendTex put in for a fourth CRC-P, Julia had the following to say:
“DefendTex loves the program and its objectives. Industry lead research with commercial outcomes perfectly align to our organisation’s objective. We were looking for ways to leverage the expertise of academia and the CRC-Projects are the perfect mechanism to support and facilitate these collaborative engagements”.
Julia went on to say that since receiving their first grant, she has seen a change in the culture and adaptability of the research sector to work towards commercial milestones and outcomes.