The ACT government will establish a space research program and space hub as part of an attempt to make Canberra "Australia's gateway to space".
Chief Minister Andrew Barr unveiled the plans for the hub on Friday, which will connect research, industry and government.
Mr Barr said the territory still wanted to play a strong role in the space industry, despite the city being overlooked as the headquarters for Australia's space industry.
Adelaide was selected to have the headquarters in 2018 and Mr Barr slammed the decision at the time.
The Chief Minister said, on Friday, there was a lot of space-related activity occurring in the nation's capital.
"There's a lot of public sector research capability here, together, of course, with a range of emerging businesses," Mr Barr said.
Mr Barr announced the government would contribute $1 million to an ACT space research and development partnering program. This funding will be matched by SmartSat CRC, which is a consortium of universities and other research organisations focused on developing technologies.
There will be $1.3 million given to the Australian National University Institute of Space to develop a space-based program to assist in bushfire prevention. The University of NSW Canberra will be given $700,000 to develop a surveillance system to respond to the risks of space objects.
Mr Barr said the government would seek to invest in further programs.
"One of the missions strategy is to seek to attract more of that private investment into the ACT," he said.
