Recently established Capricorn Space Pty Ltd. has secured licenses from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) that allows the xompany to establish ground infrastructure in Australia to support a diverse range of satellite missions.

Founded in early 2018, and funded by the Knowles Group of companies, Capricorn Space will now finalize site and infrastructure selection with plans to initiate commercial service in early 2019. Initial sites will be established on the west coast and in the south east of Australia and will enable satellites to be accessed across much of the southern hemisphere.

Initial licenses have been secured in the UHF, S- and X-bands, which are expected to prove attractive to many smallsat and cubesat operators. While there is significant infrastructure to support these services in the northern hemisphere, there is lack of capability south of the equator. Capricorn Space intends to provide a range of service options to its customers including establishing partnerships with existing international infrastructure providers to significantly improve the capability of satellite operators to control and distribute information from their space assets.