Multimillion-dollar promise to send Adelaide astronaut into space
The Australian government is making a financial offer to send the Australian of the Year into space but has refused to reveal the cost to taxpayers.
The Australian government this morning confirmed it has written to the European Space Agency (ESA) with an undisclosed financial offer to support sending Adelaide astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg to the International Space Station.
If successful, Bennell-Pegg – the 2026 Australian of the Year and an InDaily 40 Under 40 alumni – would be the first person to wear an Australian flag on their space suit. The state’s first astronaut in space, Andy Thomas, was under an American programme.
But questions remained over how much it would cost taxpayers to send Bennell-Pegg on the mission; it could reportedly cost around $100 million.
Australian Industry and Innovation Minister Tim Ayres said today philanthropists have committed $6 million to sending Bennell-Pegg into space alongside “some indicative support from some state governments”.
Premier Peter Malinauskas said earlier this month the state would contribute a “pretty modest sum”, but did not disclose the figure.
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“The government has long held ambition to see an Australian astronaut go to space wearing an Australian flag on their space suit,” Ayres said.
“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 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.”
If accepted, Bennell-Pegg would undertake training in Germany and the United States, building on training she has already completed with the ESA in 2024.
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She was named Australian of the Year 2026 for having graduated from Basic Astronaut Training in 2024 as part of a class of six trained by the European Astronaut Centre in Germany – the first international candidate to do so.
SA Opposition Leader Ashton Hurn earlier this month said she supported Bennell-Pegg and thought she was “amazing”.
But at the time, she questioned the lack of information around the offer.
“Having a goal of wanting to send her and others into space is an ambition that we should have,” Hurn said.
“There’s just no details about how much it would cost the taxpayer.
“We need to know how much it’s going to cost because there are just so many other problems that we need to be addressing on the home front before we start to think about sending someone into space.”
InDaily asked Ayres for further details on the offer but was referred back to the initial statement.
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