Lockheed Martin Australia sponsors Melbourne Space Program

Lockheed Martin Australia has announced its 12-month sponsorship of the Melbourne Space Program (MSP), a not-for-profit dedicated to developing Australia’s future space leaders. This partnership is designed to nurture and empower the next generation of engineers, researchers and scientists who will shape Australia’s defence and space sectors.

“We are proud to be sponsoring the Melbourne Space Program, an organisation whose ground-breaking work closely aligns with Lockheed Martin Australia’s values of innovation and excellence,” said David Ball, Lockheed Martin Space Regional Director, Australia and New Zealand.

“As a steward of Australia’s space industry and the preferred tenderer for JP9102, this is one of many investments we have made in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) as we focus on building a skilled workforce capable of meeting Australia’s future economic and national security needs.”

And in a further boost for Victoria’s space workforce, Lockheed Martin has committed to working with the state government to establish Victoria as the engineering and technical hub for the company’s proposed JP9102 solution.

MSP actively identifies and collaborates with exceptional tertiary students from various disciplines, including engineering, business, and law, to provide them with unrivalled educational experiences in complex technology projects. The goal of the program is to engage students in every lifecycle phase of a space project. They are emboldened to leverage technology, not only as a tool but also as a catalyst to spark their passion, build real-world experience, and develop innovative solutions aligned with industry trends.

“We are delighted to partner with Lockheed Martin Australia, a company with such a significant legacy in space, to shape our nation’s innovators,” said Maxwell Jones, CEO, Melbourne Space Program. “Their generous sponsorship will help enable us to grow our program and ensure more students can make valuable contributions to space. In turn, Lockheed Martin Australia will establish invaluable relationships with future industry leaders.

“By offering our members challenges beyond the scope of a typical university curriculum, we aim to develop individuals who will drive significant positive change in technology sectors around the globe,” he added.

Lockheed Martin Australia’s sponsorship of MSP complements its extensive investments in STEM education initiatives aimed at primary school, high school and tertiary students, as well as early-career professionals.