Southern Launch raises $25m in NRF-backed series A round
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The news: South Australia-based rocket launch services company Southern Launch has raised $25 million in a series A funding round backed by the federal government’s National Reconstruction Fund and led by national security investment firm Brindabella.
The numbers: The NRF’s direct equity investment in Southern Launch was worth $10 million. The raise also attracted investment from former Macquarie Group CEO Nicholas Moore and former CFO Alex Harvey as well as Coupland Asset Management.
The context: Southern Launch operates the Koonibba Test Range, which was the site of the world’s first commercial spacecraft re-entry in February 2025. It is also developing the Whalers Way Orbital Launch Complex after a prolonged battle to secure environmental approval.
Both rocket launch sites are located in South Australia. The company currently employs 35 people and is planning to expand its workforce to 185 full-time jobs, according to the NRF.
The company also supported NASA’s Artemis II mission by helping to track the Orion spacecraft as it made a spaceflight around the moon earlier this year. Other customers include Varda Space Industries, Lux Aeterna, ATSpace, Perigee Aerospace, INNOSPACE, Reaction Dynamics and the German space agency DLR.
What they said: “This raise is a major milestone for Southern Launch and a strong vote of confidence in Australia’s sovereign space capability,” Southern Launch CEO Lloyd Damp said.
“With the backing of world-class investors and the Australian Federal Government through the NRFC, we are scaling infrastructure and capabilities to position Australia as a global leader in launch and re-entry, while unlocking new economic opportunities in low-Earth orbit and beyond.”
NRFC CEO David Gall said: “Southern Launch meets a critical need for rocket launch and re-entry services in the Southern Hemisphere and NRFC investment addresses a global bottleneck in the space industry by securing this sovereign capability for Australia.”
The sources: Southern Launch media release, NRF media release
