The multimillion-dollar cost of sending the Australian of the Year into space

The federal government has made a formal offer to the European Space Agency to send Australian of the Year Katherine Bennell-Pegg to space.

The 2028 mission to the International Space Station would mark the first time an astronaut flies to space under the Australian flag.

The ESA offered to fly Bennell-Pegg, a qualified astronaut and director of space technology at Australian Space Agency, earlier this year. The ESA offer would have cost Australia more than $100 million, Science Minister Tim Ayres has said.

The government has not said how much its counteroffer to the ESA was worth.

“The government has long held an ambition to see an Australian astronaut go to space wearing an Australian flag on their space suit,” Ayres said on Friday morning.

“The government has been engaging extensively with the private sector, philanthropists, and other levels of government to raise funding to support a space flight – which is a significant cost. We are grateful to the philanthropists who have committed over $6 million in cash, plus in-kind support, and some indicative support from some state governments.

“We are grateful for the invitation for Katherine Bennell-Pegg to participate in a future mission to the International Space Station and have written to the European Space Agency with an offer that manages the competing pressures on the budget.”

The ESA is expected to make a decision on whether to accept the government’s counter-offer later this year.

Following the offer from ESA in May, a fundraising campaign dubbed #flykatherine launched with the aim of garnering industry and philanthropic support for the mission.

Entrepreneurs Jim Whalley and Dick Smith, and companies BHP and Novas Systems, have all committed $1 million to the effort. The federal government asked state governments for funding but only South Australia has committed support.

Supporters have argued the mission would generate unprecedented momentum for Australia’s space industry and boost careers in STEM.

“This rare opportunity to fly Australia’s astronaut with the European Space Agency is an investment in Australian jobs, research and our next generation of scientists and engineers,” chair of the Space Industry of Association of Australia Darin Lovett said.

“For around $100 million, less than the price of a single coffee for every Australian adult, this is not a ticket to space. It is a down payment on Australia’s future in one of the defining industries of this century.”

Some within the space industry have been critical of the idea, given the pricetag of the single spaceflight would well exceed the entire annual budget for the Australian Space Agency.

Taxpayers covered Bennell-Pegg’s $466,000 astronaut training with the ESA in 2024.

A number of Australians have gone to space, including Dr Andy Thomas and Paul Scully, who flew with NASA under the US flag. Bennell-Pegg would be the first to do so under the Australian flag.

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