SA commits to supporting astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg's space mission despite funding setback

South Australia has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting a proposed mission to send European-trained astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg to the International Space Station, despite most other states and territories declining to provide direct funding.

The New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, Northern Territory, and ACT governments have all declined to financially support the venture. Western Australia's Science and Innovation Minister Stephen Dawson stated that while his government had "advocated" to the federal government to pursue the initiative, "any financial contribution from [WA] would need to show a return on investment that aligns with the interest of Western Australians".

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said his government was awaiting indications from the federal government before it firmed up its contribution. "We're not talking about South Australia picking up a huge percentage of the bill, but we think it's appropriate that we make a contribution to what is really a national endeavour," Mr Malinauskas said.

The federal government had been asked by the European Space Agency (ESA) to help fund Ms Bennell-Pegg's mission before the end of the decade, which includes specialised training in Germany and the United States. The offer was extended to the federal government by ESA earlier this year.

Ms Bennell-Pegg, the current Australian of the Year and director of space technology for the Australian Space Agency, has already undergone taxpayer-funded basic astronaut training with ESA, completing it in 2024. She became the first astronaut trained "under" the Australian flag.

Professor Larry James, a former deputy director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said that a decision against the mission wouldn't be a "death knell" for Australia's space industry, but would send a global signal of the nation's space priorities. "I think we want to show that we are serious – we are serious about being a nation that invests in high technology, invests in space and wants to have sovereign capabilities, and this [mission] is a step to go down that path," he said.

A public crowdfunding campaign has raised around $25 million in private and corporate donations, including from the Scully-Power family of Australia’s first astronaut Paul Scully-Power, who flew on the Challenger spacecraft as an American "flagged" astronaut in 1984. Entrepreneurs Jim Whalley and Dick Smith have committed $1 million each, along with similar contributions from private companies.