Relativity Space (YC W16)
Tesseract (YC S17)
Momentous (YC W18)
SpaceRyde (YC W19)
UTVATE (YC S20)
Inversion Space (YC S21)
TransAstra Corporation (YC S21)
Epsilon3 (YC S21)
Turion Space (YC S21)
HEO Robotics (YC S21)
Albedo (YC W21)
Velontra (YC S22)
Quindar (YC S22)
Wyvern (YC W22)
AstroForge (YC W22)
This is a non-exhaustive list.
> Also they won't be considered seriously for American military R&D
I said military R&D depending on their country. Australia has some Aerospace R&D grant programs as well via the SIF and ISII.
Modular construction has plenty of Space and Military applications. Depending on OP's background they might be competitive if they have some kind of an MVP or prototype
Being in America matters for them, because afaik, Australia is nowhere as competitive as America or the EU in the space sector. More opportunities = more paths to success.
Fun fact, back in the PG days, when we had applied to YC, we were rejected because aerospace was an area where they didn't "have expertise" and where we would have to work heavily with government. Same for another friend and his AI-based visual surveillance startup. Both companies were later acquired by established behemoth players eventually.
Also they won't be considered seriously for American military R&D if they're an Australian team either. They would have to eventually relinquish the company to an American player. And not many militaries outside the US fund R&D, and even if they do, it's often a giant bureaucratic centralized leviathan you have to deal with - it's much easier dealing with the US military in that respect. And YC is kinda sour for startups in the non-US non-tech space.