Boeing partners RMIT on space production technologies

Boeing announced on 15 September a partnership with Australia's Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) to develop “space manufacturing capability”.

A spokesperson for Boeing told Janes that the alliance will support the company's bid for Australia's programme to procure a defence satellite communications (satcom) system.

In a press release Boeing said that under its new agreement with RMIT the two sides will collaborate on “design strategy, materials research, and process innovation” to support the production of components and equipment for space flight.

It said joint development work will take place at RMIT's Space Industry Hub, which was established in June 2021 to facilitate local industry collaboration on space technologies. Boeing and RMIT have previously collaborated on several aerospace manufacturing research projects.

A Boeing spokesperson said, “Boeing's collaborative agreement with RMIT aims to build sovereign capability across multiple facets of the space domain.”

The spokesperson said the agreement is expected to contribute to Boeing's solution for Australia's defence satcom requirements. This is framed by Joint Project (JP) 9102.

“JP9102 is the most significant space programme currently being tendered by the Commonwealth and Boeing is working with Australian industry to develop a resilient, Australian-owned and operated next-generation satellite communications solution.”