Robinson, 19, founded Robinson Aerospace Systems last April with the mission to educate high school students on space technology and inspire them to pursue careers in the industry.

Using the kits, students can build cube satellites from scratch, program software and generate and monitor data.

“We’ve made a simplified version that looks, feels, functions and assembles just like a real CubeSat that would go to space,” Robinson said.

“It does all the same things as a deployable satellite; it’s got the aluminium structure and it’s got the main circuit boards inside. However, it will be in a classroom instead of in space.”

Robinson said he charted his career course early.

“I was very fortunate that I knew exactly what I wanted to do, whereas most people in high school are still trying to figure it all out,” he told InDaily.

“Most young people aren’t even aware that Australia has a space industry, so what I am trying to do is educate them about it and get them really excited to consider this as a career path.”

Robinson’s quest was born in Year 10.

“I saw a video of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that had been to space, come back down and landed on a ship floating in the ocean,” he said.

“At the time, I literally thought it was CGI. I didn’t know who SpaceX was and I knew nearly nothing about space.

“I had recently started becoming interested in electronic engineering and when I saw that, I immediately knew that’s what I wanted to do.”

Last year, Robinson deferred his degree at the University of South Australia for 12 months to focus entirely on his start up and the development of RASCube.

“The Australian space industry is growing so fast and it’s at such an early stage that I don’t want to wait four or five years to get into the industry and end up working for someone else,” Robinson said.

“This is a way of getting into the industry. I’ve met hundreds of incredible people that I wouldn’t have met if I was in university and I’ve had tours of places that are very restricted for most people.”

Edward Robinson presenting RASCube at the product launch. Photo: Huey Pretila.

The first 20 kits were snapped up in a pre-sale, with the demand for more quickly filling up a waitlist as Robinson prepares to manufacture the next batch.

Prompted by the first RASCube kits’ success, Robinson knew he needed to get someone else on board to expand Robinson Aerospace Systems and speed up manufacturing.

After weeks of consideration as to who he wanted to join him on the ground floor, Robinson approached Duty Manager of the Australian Space Agency, Isabella McCulloch and offered her a role as Co-Founder.

“My goal in life is to help students understand that no matter what their passion or degree, they will still have a place in space,” McCulloch said at the RASCube product launch on Monday evening.

McCulloch will manage business operations so Robinson can focus on the further development of RASCube and upcoming projects.

“Until now, it has been operating like a small business; it’s just me manufacturing in Dad’s shed in the Barossa,” Robinson said.

“I’ve had to do everything myself. I developed the concept, wrote the initial software, did all of the marketing, managed the pre-sales and manufactured the first kits.

“But you know, I’m here to found a start-up, to take things further, raise capital, build a team and do all these things that a company would actually do.”