Southern Launch lands AU$25M as SpaceX hype lifts space tech
What's the deal? Southern LaunchDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the South Australian company that runs commercial spaceports for rocket launches and re-entry missions, has raised AU$25 million in an early VC round.
National security investor Brindabella & CompanyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → led the round. The National Reconstruction Fund CorporationDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → put in AU$10 million, alongside former MacquarieDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → chief executive officer Nicholas MooreDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, ex-CFO Alex HarveyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Coupland Asset Management.
Founded in 2017, Southern Launch operates two spaceports where rockets launch and capsules return.
It made history in 2025 when US startup Varda Space Industries landed a capsule at its facility — the first commercial re-entry site, not a military base, to recover a payload from orbit.
Why now? The company has long funded itself with customer pre-payments, but founder Lloyd Damp said the cash is needed to meet surging demand.
"We've got so many international and domestic customers wanting to use the site," he told Forbes Australia. The money will speed up its Whaler's Way site and bring launchpads online sooner.
The raise lands amid a global frenzy in space tech, fuelled by SpaceX's US$75 billion IPO in June 2026. The company now trades above a US$2 trillion valuation despite revenue roughly 1/111th of that.
What could go wrong? SpaceX has become something of a meme stock, with backers betting on Elon Musk's pledge to build data centres in space.
That hype carries volatility risk. Southern Launch also declined to name its valuation, saying it is an infrastructure business, not a typical startup.
The signal: Backing an early-stage infrastructure player like Southern Launch — rather than a flashier orbital startup — reflects a bet that demand for re-entry capacity will outlast any SpaceX-driven hype cycle. The mix of national security investor Brindabella & Company, the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation, and angels including former Macquarie chief executive officer Nicholas Moore signals that Australia sees commercial spaceports as a sovereign capability worth building at home.
Read more: Forbes Australia
Image credit: NASA Goddard Photo and Video
