Saber Astronautics announces first projects in Australian Astronaut program

Saber Astronautics has announced the first set of projects selected for development at the International Space Station (ISS). Saber’s Australian Astronaut Program, announced last July, aims to bring Australian-industry and researchers into the spaceflight community and benefit from the trillion dollar station.

Saber accepted this first round of projects based on their manufacturing potential and longer-term capabilities in various fields such as health, food production, and future sustainable space access:

• The ARC Centre of Excellence forPlants for Space (P4S) and University of Adelaide is developing sustainable, productive space crops.
• A project to study theimpacts of the space environment on frozen embryos, eggs and sperm by IVF Australia, Virtus Health, 23strands, the University of Melbourne, and the University of Technology Sydney.
• NSW engineering companyTITOMIC Pty Ltd is developing a method to repair solid state metals, crucial for long term, sustainable repair of large space objects.
• Vostok Space Beer, a joint venture between Saber Astronautics and the 4-Pines Brewery, will fly the world’s first beer you can drink in space, with a 0-g beer bottle.

Project teams will participate in a series of workshops starting in February at the Wolfpack Space Hub in Sydney in order to get ‘’flight ready’’ for Axiom’s flights to the ISS in 2024 and 2025.

Saber’s Australian Astronaut Program is part of the most recent push for commercially funded astronauts. This program is opening the door for projects to access the laboratory aboard the ISS, with an undiscovered potential for return. Successful projects are aiming to build new products in a diverse range of industries and research using the unique environment of space.

The ISS offers unparalleled advanced manufacturing and research opportunities. Project teams will also create advancements in areas such as human reproduction, plant growth and materials science. ‘’We are impressed by the innovation and creativity in the proposals and are excited to see the potential they can have on the future of space exploration and on Earth. There are more projects signing up and we want to give the best opportunity for industry to make the most of this exciting opportunity,’’ said Saber CEO Dr. Jason Held. Saber plans additional project proposal rounds and workshops on a bi-annual basis.