Young SA entrepreneur’s innovation ready for launch
This month, a dream will come true for 21-year-old Edward Robinson when his micro satellite is launched into space onboard a SpaceX shuttle.
Just three years after starting Robinson Aerospace in the garage of his parent’s Barossa home, Edward Robinson will send a payload into space onboard a SpaceX rocket.
It’s a major milestone for the young space whizz, who started his company in April 2022 with the idea that he could teach high school students about space technology and inspire them to also take up careers in the industry.
In the years since, Robinson has made significant headway – growing out the educational side of his business and now securing a coveted spot on the SpaceX launch.
Last year, InDaily reported that Robinson took part in Project Space Call, which brought together students from Australia, Rwanda, Singapore, Ukraine, Colombia, the UAE and the United States to design and program a module that will go to space.
That project has since been compiled in Australia on a Robinson Aerospace CubeSat that is now in California awaiting launch.
“This is the most exciting thing of my entire life,” Robinson said.
“Back in year 10, I saw a video of a SpaceX rocket launching and then landing – it’s what got me into space.
“Ever since then, I’ve worked on my own projects and eventually started this business with the goal of getting into space as quickly as I possibly could. Now, our payload is going into space on a SpaceX rocket – so it’s really come full circle.”
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To get the project together, Robinson worked with German launch provider The Exploration Company.
“This project literally couldn’t be more global,” Robinson told InDaily.
“Schools from seven different countries sent stuff to us, then we built it all, sent it to Canberra at the National Space Test Facility, then it came back here, then to Germany, and then to the US.”
It was “quite the logistical process” in getting the puzzle pieces together, he said.
“Some countries were super quick. Some took a long, long time.
“The place in Rwanda, they had a delivery truck come through once every two weeks – so it was very interesting to get the parts to them and get it all back.”
Each group of students has designed the electronics and software for a tiny module that transmits and receives light signals.
Once the module is in space, the students will “talk to each other” inside the CubeSat. For example, students from Ukraine will use Morse code to transmit the word ‘freedom’ in their language to a school in Singapore.
The Singaporean students will then translate the word and relay it to the next school.
“Those words will be transmitted around the world like a game of Telephone and we’ll get all the records of what was sent,” Robinson said.
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“It’s not so much about the data, it’s more about these kids being part of something – the symbolism of these messages being sent around this tiny cube that’s literally orbiting Earth.”
A team of 15 engineers are working hard on constructing the CubeSats as part of Robinson Aerospace’s partnership with Fleet Space. Photo: David Simmons
Education dreams come true
Looking ahead, Robinson said his mission to inspire and educate the next generation about space was also nearing launch.
He’s partnered with fellow SA-based space company Fleet Space, which has ordered 1250 satellite kits from Robinson Aerospace.
“A crazy number,” Robinson said.
“As I speak right now, I’m looking downstairs – we have five people on our production line working shift rotations to manufacture these kits.
“We’re making one satellite kit every 7.5 minutes.”
The kits will be sent to schools across the country for free for a 10-week program called LaunchBox. That Federal Government-funded program sees students in years 7 and 8 design, build and complete their own CubeSat.
The students will then compete in a competition, and the winners will get to put their CubeSat experiments on a weather balloon and fly them to about 40 kilometres above Earth.
“Flavia and Fleet Space was one of the companies that got me inspired to think that maybe I could start my own company here in SA,” Robinson said.
“All through high school, I was watching companies like Fleet Space, Inovor, Southern Launch and Norman Space very closely to see how they could grow a company like that here in SA.
“To now be actually working this closely with Fleet Space on a project this big is another absolutely incredible dream ticked off the list.”
