OBITUARY

Ted Stapinski died on 12/7/2025.

Ted Stapinski FTSE was elected to ATSE in 1995. A brilliant electronic and computer engineer, he specialised in space technology. A member of the ACT Division, he set up AUSPACE Limited as a spin-off company from The Australian National University, which became one of Australia’s leading space companies.

At the time of his election as a Fellow, the company was solely responsible for more than half of Australia’s sales of space hardware. High-tech space instruments developed by AUSPACE and built in Canberra were placed on board European Space Agency satellites and on NASA’s Endeavour space shuttle.

Over his career, he was also Director of Australian Scientific Instruments, a supplier of highly specialised tools of science to organisations like Geoscience Australia, and in 2004 was named CEO of Canberra-based vaccine developer Vaxine, which is still in operation today in South Australia.

Mr Stapinski, in his role as Managing Director, has led AUSPACE Limited to become one of the leading space companies in Australia. It has won seven international space contracts and is responsible for more than 50% of Australia's sales of space hardware and with good expectations of earning more valuable export dollars with their innovative Navigation Receiver using satellites.
From 1981-85 Mr Stapinski was Project Manager for STARLAB) an international space telescope program and due to his leadership, Australia successfully completed the Phase B studies of the instrument Package. This work led to a resurgence of space activities in Australia which had lapsed since the 1960s.
Mr Stapinski is a brilliant electronic and computer engineer and was responsible for the development of a super-sensitive 2D light detector and the design of a novel computer system for the control of telescopes.