Darin is an experienced director who has over 30 years of experience in defence, space, international and political studies, and large-scale transformation projects both in Australia and the United States.
As the Executive Director of iLAuNCH Trailblazer, Darin is responsible for a $180m program that will build Australia’s sovereign space capability by addressing critical gaps and accelerate the development of space launch manufacturing. Darin most recently was a Director of Space for the South Australian Space Industry Centre (SASIC) which saw him formulate and execute the State’s space strategy to build an enduring space industry for South Australia, and he is a non-executive director for the Space Industry Association of Australia (SIAA). Prior to that, he managed the virtual warfare lab for Boeing PhantomWorks (International). He is a military veteran of more than 25-years, working on operations, strategy, and capability development for the Air and Space domains.
His extensive space experience also includes: Chief of Australia’s Space Operations Centre (AUSSpOC), Chief of Strategy to the US Executive Agent for Space within the Pentagon, and staff officer in Australia’s joint Defence Space Coordinating Office.
The Space Industry of Australia (SIAA)
The Space Industry of Australia is the national peak body for the space industry in Australia,
representing more than 600 members. Formed in 1992, SIAA hosted the 2017 International Astronautical
Congress in Adelaide which led to the establishment of the Australian Space Agency in 2018. SIAA and
its member companies work closely with Australian governments, international partners, academia, and
industry to advance Australia’s space industry and economy.