Australia Offers Astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg for a Space Station Mission Under the Australian Flag

The Australian federal government has sent an offer to the European Space Agency to send the Australian of the Year, astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg, to the International Space Station.

The mission, slated for 2028, would mark the first time a qualified astronaut has flown to space under the Australian flag.

Bennell-Pegg is director of space technology at the Australian Space Agency and completed astronaut training with the European Space Agency in 2024.

She is not the first Australian astronaut, but she is the first to qualify under the Australian flag. Dr Andy Thomas and Paul Scully-Power, both Australian-born, went to space as United States citizens on NASA missions, while Elaine Hyde, a dual Australian and US citizen, last year took a suborbital flight aboard Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin NS-30.

Announcing the decision on Friday, Science Minister Tim Ayres said the government had been engaging extensively with the private sector, philanthropists and other levels of government to raise funding to support a space flight, which carries a significant cost.

He said philanthropists had committed over $6 million in cash, plus in-kind support, along with some indicative support from some state governments. The minister's office had previously described the undertaking as very expensive, which no government alone could fund.

In May, the space agency announced it had entered into treaty-level discussions with the European agency, which would establish a formal framework for enhanced cooperation between Australia and Europe.

In August, Ayres and Assistant Science Minister Andrew Charlton wrote to state and territory leaders asking them to partner with the federal government to fund the mission. The letter described it as a complete Australian mission including locally developed experiments and technology.

South Australia, where the space agency is headquartered, has publicly committed to supporting Bennell-Pegg's bid. Premier Peter Malinauskas said South Australia stood ready to partner with the Commonwealth in what should be a national endeavour, and that Bennell-Pegg had the potential to inspire a new generation.

A campaign to secure the flight was supported by entrepreneurs Dick Smith and Jim Whalley, who each pledged $1 million in funding, and by former prime minister Kevin Rudd, who said on social media that the project made long-term economic sense for Australia.

Richard de Grijs, a professor of physics and astronomy at Macquarie University, said Bennell-Pegg was qualified and had undergone significant training, so she was set to go if a suitable mission could be found. He noted the agency had paid $466,000 for her to complete astronaut training at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany.

De Grijs also raised the cost question, asking whether inspirational value was worth $100 million, while acknowledging it might lead to returns far beyond the estimated figure. He pointed out that Australia was also involved in inspirational spaceflight through an Australian-built lunar rover, named Roo-ver, which will be sent to the Moon on a NASA mission in 2030.

Darin Lovett, chair of the Space Industry Association of Australia, said that for around $100 million — less than the price of a single coffee for every Australian adult — this was not a ticket to space but a down payment on Australia's future in one of the defining industries of this century. In a speech earlier this month, Bennell-Pegg herself described space as a gateway into the full breadth of science, technology, engineering and maths fields.