Leonardo commits to the South Australian space ecosystem establishing a foothold for its space service business -through its subsidiary e-GEOS- in partnership with SmartSat CRC. e-GEOS is a joint-venture between Telespazio –Leonardo’s subsidiary- and the Italian Space Agency (ASI). The news was warmly welcomed by the local community and by the Premier of South Australia Hon Steven Marshall who recently welcomed Leonardo at Lot Fourteen.

“South Australia is the defence and space capital of the Country and it’s fantastic to see another incredible international company choosing South Australia to do business” he commented. “The strong interest being shown by major national and international players is a coup for South Australia and is further evidence that Lot Fourteen is a magnet for business and jobs. The addition of Leonardo to Lot Fourteen cements my governments strong commitment to create a once in a generation hub that will generate thousands of jobs for South Australians now and into the future", Hon. Marshall stated.

As a dominant worldwide supplier in the space sector, Leonardo aims to collaborate with the Australian space industry to stimulate local growth and competitiveness in global markets. “Lot Fourteen is the beating heart of Australia’s Space activity. It is where the future of Australia’s Space capability is being created. Leonardo and e-GEOS have so much space expertise to bring, technology to transfer and experience to share.  We want to see the Australian Space industry grow. How could we not be part of this thrilling venture?” said Michael Lenton, Executive Chairman of Leonardo Australia. “Leonardo Australia aims to work with SmartSat to harness local expertise and develop competitive business opportunities with their global partners, leading to job creation and industry growth, stated Prof Koronios SmartSat CEO. “Leonardo can leverage decades on expertise and experience in space programs and plays a crucial role in several important space missions such as the Galileo global navigation system, Copernicus, COSMO-SkyMed, Prisma (Hyperspectral Precursor), ExoMars and Rosetta missions as well as the International Space Station. The Company’s presence in Adelaide is a major step for the South Australian ecosystem” stated Richard Price the Chief Executive of Defence SA.

In 2019, Leonardo Australia through the involvement of e-GEOS (a joint-venture between Telespazio –Leonardo’s subsidiary- and the Italian Space Agency), became a supporting partner of Adelaide-based space Cooperative Research Centre SmartSat CRC.  Leonardo Australia’s partnership with SmartSat is a key driver in the company’s strategy to grow its presence in the space industry within the Oceania region and to develop joint research and commercialisation opportunities. As prominent provider of the European Copernicus program, e-GEOS supports rapid security and disaster response operations all over the world, including providing Australian fire authorities rapid mapping during recent bushfires.  Leonardo Australia is the regional subsidiary of the industry, a global firm among the top ten high technology Defence and Space company with annual revenues of 23 bn AU$. George Coulloupas of Leonardo Australia (Business Development Manager – Space) is leading Leonardo Australia’s Space Line of Business based at Lot Fourteen. He has extensive Australian-based experience in start-up innovation, space-derived service commercialisation and primary.