The 11th Australian Space Science Conference is underway in Canberra this week, from the 26th to the 29th of September. This years conference at ANU features an ever expanding list of the finest Space Science researchers in Australia, and is reflecting the continuing uptick in the Australian Space Industry that has occurred in the last few years.
The conference was opened by the Minister for Space Kim Carr - in a very important speech that I intend to devote another blog post to discussing.
Some key speeches at the conference not to miss:
Senator Kim Carr - who officially opened the conference today
The National Context Speeches which feature many of the key players in the Australian Space Industry - Michel Clement, Clare McLaughlin, Brett Biddington, Phil Diamond, Russel Boyce and Iver Cairns.
Trevor Ireland - Samples from the Hayabusa Mission to Itokawa-2514
Jason Held -
Vostok “4-Pines” Stout, the First Space Beer: The Flight Test and Research
Plan (just because I think he's done a great job this year, and they've been incredibly innovative)
The Government Speeches by David Neudegg, Kimberley Clayfield, Andrew Klekociuk, Tony Lindsay, and Adam Lewis,
Tanya Vladimirova - Microelectronics Design and Embedded Systems for Small Satellites
All of the ASRP speeches
Fred Menk - The Next Generation Over the Horizon Radar
This years ASSC will run in conjunction with the Italy-Australia Space Symposium on the afternoon of the 28th of September.
The conference homepage can be found here, with the final program found here.
For those who are there, let me know how its going - spaceboomerang@gmail.com or @spaceboomerang on twitter.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Sunday, September 25, 2011
ASRP Fact Sheets on the space.gov.au website
The Australian Space Policy Unit has set up a wonderful set of fact sheets about each of the Australian Space Research Program projects, which can be found here.
Great work guys - they're very informative, and interesting.
My only complaint - they're a little buried on the website, and didn't even make the "News and Features" section on the front page. Perhaps they could be promoted a little more?
Happy reading everyone.
Great work guys - they're very informative, and interesting.
My only complaint - they're a little buried on the website, and didn't even make the "News and Features" section on the front page. Perhaps they could be promoted a little more?
Happy reading everyone.
Commentary on the Space Industry Innovation Council advice to the Australian Govenment
Recently, the Australian Space Industry Innovation Council (SIIC) released their first statement of 'Advice to the Australian government' which can be found here, despite it being a little hidden on the space.gov.au website, which understates its importance.
The Advice is far more substantial than the previous SIIC Strategic Roadmap, and makes a total of 8 recommendations to the Australian Government.
The advice is broken into 3 sections:
I thought I might go through the recommendations and put a few ideas down.
1.1 That the Space Policy Unit be established as a permanent element of the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research Recommendation
Firstly, I must say that I wasn't aware that the SPU was not permanent, which is somewhat disappointing to know, and a clear driver behind this recommendation. The SPU is the absolute minimum that Australia should ever tolerate in the space sector - a dedicated, educated, informed unit within the Australian government that can provide advice to the Australian government on all things space. This should be supported by all sides of parliament to keep, as a minimum, some understanding within government of Space issues.
2.1 That the Australian Space Research Program be converted into an ongoing funded space capability development program.
I fully agree on this point, however I believe the future should be a mix of Australian government projects that are decided and driven by the government and implemented to address national space priorities, as well as the current industry proposed ideas within the ASRP. It was a shame in the last budget that we did not see an extension of the ASRP, however I hope next year's budget will commit funding.
Recommendation 2.1 That the issue of Australia’s dependence on space‐based infrastructure and services be referred to the Attorney‐General, as the Minister responsible for critical infrastructure protection coordination, for assessment of measures necessary to assure Government that the critical dependencies are both understood and risk managed.
We have not yet seen a major disruption to Australian Space infrastructure, which has led to our apathy about what could occur should this infrastructure be damaged or destroyed. The Attorney-General should at the very least undertake a full risk analysis to manage these risks, and then report back to the government on how our Space infrastructure should be protected.
Recommendation 2.2 That Australia move to strengthen its relationships with the international space community in order to both build own resilience towards the security of data supply, and demonstrate a responsible and reliable approach to the space‐based services in which Australia participates on behalf of others
This recommendation ties in well with Brett Biddington's principle of having some "skin in the game" in the global space industry. We continue to be lucky that our partners provide us with an incredible amount of free data, however we should support our partners by getting back into the game, through restarting Australia's role in the global space industry, through agreements, projects, and exchanges.
Recommendation 3.1 That Government take deliberate steps to identify the relevant cadre of staff members across public agencies which use or have policy impact on space capability, including at senior levels, and ensure that their skill sets and understanding of space matters are maintained and enhanced.
My guess is that the SPU is probably already in the middle of implementing this implementation through their work on the National Space Policy. Perhaps if anything, the depth and scope of the impact of space across the government may be underestimated, and the knowledge and skills may be overestimated.
Recommendation 4.1 That the opportunity for robust Australian industry participation in the ground segment of the NBN satellite procurement be explored.
From what I understand, the NBN is in the final moments of their decision on their satellite purchase of two Ka band satellites, which may also include the ground segment (or it may be a separate contract). It would be great to see Australian involvement in the ground (and satellite segment for that matter), however I feel that it may be almost too late to change things from their already established position. That is not to say that their won't be Australian involvement, quite the contrary. As the ground segment will be built in Australia, it would be fair to say that their will be a reasonable degree of Australian involvement.
Recommendation 4.2 That the potential to include an Australian PNT augmentation payload or weather sensor be explored now in the context of major investments already contemplated by Government or industry, including procurement of the satellite communications component of the NBN as well as plans to make better use of space‐based precision timing and navigation capabilities.
A great idea - and perhaps one of the projects that could be addressed under the "government priorities" section of any future ASRP, or as a separate Australian Space program in parallel with the ASRP.
Recommendation 4.3 That a series of studies be undertaken to begin to understand the organisational, technical and other issues associated with the acquisition and successful introduction into service of an Australian owed and operated ‘dual use’ Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite in the 2010 timeframe.
This is the first time that I've seen that the SAR satellite might be "dual use". A good idea, and perhaps something we'll see more of in the coming months. It would certainly leverage the investment in the satellite across multiple sections of the Australian Government. I'm guessing the 2010 time frame is a typo, as I think it is suggested to be introduced around the 2014-15 time frame.
Overall, a very good, and well thought out set of advice to the Australian government. I was initially a little skeptical when the SIIC was setup, however their existence has been fully justified by the good advice that they are providing. The government now has a strong base of evidence, support and advice to complete the Australian Space Policy, which we're all eagerly awaiting. I hope the Government takes the SIIC advice into account.
The Advice is far more substantial than the previous SIIC Strategic Roadmap, and makes a total of 8 recommendations to the Australian Government.
The advice is broken into 3 sections:
- The Space Policy Unit and the Australian Space Research Program (ASRP)
- Australia’s Dependency on Space Infrastructure and Service
- Building Space Industry Capacity and Capability
I thought I might go through the recommendations and put a few ideas down.
1.1 That the Space Policy Unit be established as a permanent element of the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research Recommendation
Firstly, I must say that I wasn't aware that the SPU was not permanent, which is somewhat disappointing to know, and a clear driver behind this recommendation. The SPU is the absolute minimum that Australia should ever tolerate in the space sector - a dedicated, educated, informed unit within the Australian government that can provide advice to the Australian government on all things space. This should be supported by all sides of parliament to keep, as a minimum, some understanding within government of Space issues.
2.1 That the Australian Space Research Program be converted into an ongoing funded space capability development program.
I fully agree on this point, however I believe the future should be a mix of Australian government projects that are decided and driven by the government and implemented to address national space priorities, as well as the current industry proposed ideas within the ASRP. It was a shame in the last budget that we did not see an extension of the ASRP, however I hope next year's budget will commit funding.
Recommendation 2.1 That the issue of Australia’s dependence on space‐based infrastructure and services be referred to the Attorney‐General, as the Minister responsible for critical infrastructure protection coordination, for assessment of measures necessary to assure Government that the critical dependencies are both understood and risk managed.
We have not yet seen a major disruption to Australian Space infrastructure, which has led to our apathy about what could occur should this infrastructure be damaged or destroyed. The Attorney-General should at the very least undertake a full risk analysis to manage these risks, and then report back to the government on how our Space infrastructure should be protected.
Recommendation 2.2 That Australia move to strengthen its relationships with the international space community in order to both build own resilience towards the security of data supply, and demonstrate a responsible and reliable approach to the space‐based services in which Australia participates on behalf of others
This recommendation ties in well with Brett Biddington's principle of having some "skin in the game" in the global space industry. We continue to be lucky that our partners provide us with an incredible amount of free data, however we should support our partners by getting back into the game, through restarting Australia's role in the global space industry, through agreements, projects, and exchanges.
Recommendation 3.1 That Government take deliberate steps to identify the relevant cadre of staff members across public agencies which use or have policy impact on space capability, including at senior levels, and ensure that their skill sets and understanding of space matters are maintained and enhanced.
My guess is that the SPU is probably already in the middle of implementing this implementation through their work on the National Space Policy. Perhaps if anything, the depth and scope of the impact of space across the government may be underestimated, and the knowledge and skills may be overestimated.
Recommendation 4.1 That the opportunity for robust Australian industry participation in the ground segment of the NBN satellite procurement be explored.
From what I understand, the NBN is in the final moments of their decision on their satellite purchase of two Ka band satellites, which may also include the ground segment (or it may be a separate contract). It would be great to see Australian involvement in the ground (and satellite segment for that matter), however I feel that it may be almost too late to change things from their already established position. That is not to say that their won't be Australian involvement, quite the contrary. As the ground segment will be built in Australia, it would be fair to say that their will be a reasonable degree of Australian involvement.
Recommendation 4.2 That the potential to include an Australian PNT augmentation payload or weather sensor be explored now in the context of major investments already contemplated by Government or industry, including procurement of the satellite communications component of the NBN as well as plans to make better use of space‐based precision timing and navigation capabilities.
A great idea - and perhaps one of the projects that could be addressed under the "government priorities" section of any future ASRP, or as a separate Australian Space program in parallel with the ASRP.
Recommendation 4.3 That a series of studies be undertaken to begin to understand the organisational, technical and other issues associated with the acquisition and successful introduction into service of an Australian owed and operated ‘dual use’ Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite in the 2010 timeframe.
This is the first time that I've seen that the SAR satellite might be "dual use". A good idea, and perhaps something we'll see more of in the coming months. It would certainly leverage the investment in the satellite across multiple sections of the Australian Government. I'm guessing the 2010 time frame is a typo, as I think it is suggested to be introduced around the 2014-15 time frame.
Overall, a very good, and well thought out set of advice to the Australian government. I was initially a little skeptical when the SIIC was setup, however their existence has been fully justified by the good advice that they are providing. The government now has a strong base of evidence, support and advice to complete the Australian Space Policy, which we're all eagerly awaiting. I hope the Government takes the SIIC advice into account.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Australia and NZ submit bid for the SKA
On the 14th of September, Australia and New Zealand submitted their formal proposal to host the Square Kilometer Array. The Square Kilometer Array will be the worlds most sensitive Radio-Astronomy instrument, and is expected to cost around AUD$2 Billion to build, making it one of the most prominent scientific instruments worldwide.
The Australia / New Zealand Bid is in direct competition to host the SKA with Southern Africa, with the Australian / New Zealand site believed to be superior to Southern Africa in terms of radio quietness, which is critical to maximise the scientific value of the instrument, as well as being able to leverage off the Australian government's new Australia-wide fibre-optic network, the National Broadband network. Australia and New Zealand also offer a highly stable political environment to support the SKA facility, ensuring stability across its predicted 50 year timeframe.
The facility will involve thousands of Radio telescope dishes, centered in the Murchison region of Western Australia but extending across the whole of Australia as well as New Zealand, offering a telescope baseline of 5,500 kilometers.
The Australian / New Zealand bid brought together over 47 government agencies from across Australia and New Zealand, in a strong show of political support from both sides of the Tasman. If selected, the SKA will put Australia and New Zealand at the forefront of radio-astronomy for generations to come, bringing the best minds globally to work with the facility.
The site selection is expected to be announced in early 2012, with the SKA fully operational by 2020.
Go you Aussies and New Zealanders!
The Australia / New Zealand Bid is in direct competition to host the SKA with Southern Africa, with the Australian / New Zealand site believed to be superior to Southern Africa in terms of radio quietness, which is critical to maximise the scientific value of the instrument, as well as being able to leverage off the Australian government's new Australia-wide fibre-optic network, the National Broadband network. Australia and New Zealand also offer a highly stable political environment to support the SKA facility, ensuring stability across its predicted 50 year timeframe.
The facility will involve thousands of Radio telescope dishes, centered in the Murchison region of Western Australia but extending across the whole of Australia as well as New Zealand, offering a telescope baseline of 5,500 kilometers.
The Australian / New Zealand bid brought together over 47 government agencies from across Australia and New Zealand, in a strong show of political support from both sides of the Tasman. If selected, the SKA will put Australia and New Zealand at the forefront of radio-astronomy for generations to come, bringing the best minds globally to work with the facility.
The site selection is expected to be announced in early 2012, with the SKA fully operational by 2020.
Go you Aussies and New Zealanders!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Australians in Space - VSSEC Space Week Video Conference Program
In continuing with their wonderful series of events, The Victorian Space Science Education Centre is putting on a series of video conferences to demonstrate a range of different Australians working in Space from across the world.
The sessions are running from the 17th to the 21st of October, and will feature different speakers each day. For school or university students it will be a great chance to see and speak to different Australian space professionals, and find out just how the ended up where they are.
Here is the background from the VSSEC website:
The space industry is a challenging and exciting industry to work in. It employs people from all backgrounds, and brings them together to provide essential services like Earth Observation, satellite communication and GPS, as well as explore our solar system and beyond. Talk to Australians working at NASA, the European Space Agency and in Australia. Meet an engineer designing the next Optus satellite and a scientist exploring Mars. Every one of them is inspirational and in a job you could have!
For more information and to download the flyer - head here
The sessions are running from the 17th to the 21st of October, and will feature different speakers each day. For school or university students it will be a great chance to see and speak to different Australian space professionals, and find out just how the ended up where they are.
Here is the background from the VSSEC website:
The space industry is a challenging and exciting industry to work in. It employs people from all backgrounds, and brings them together to provide essential services like Earth Observation, satellite communication and GPS, as well as explore our solar system and beyond. Talk to Australians working at NASA, the European Space Agency and in Australia. Meet an engineer designing the next Optus satellite and a scientist exploring Mars. Every one of them is inspirational and in a job you could have!
Duration:45min per session
Target audience:Year 10-12
Cost: FREE
Limit 3 classes per session
Email lynnette.whitfield@polycom.com to book a session
Sessions will be recorded and loaded on VSSECs YouTube site
For more information and to download the flyer - head here
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
EOS wins defence space technology contract
Electro Optic Systems (EOS) has today been awarded an Australian Defence Capability and Technology Demonstrator Contract, winning one of only five contracts out of 119 submissions. The contract, valued at around $3 Million, will demonstrate EOS's optical Space Tracking technology, including performance, reliability, cost effectiveness and integration with radar based sensors.
Canberra based EOS has also seen success in the recent Australian Space Research Program, where they have been involved in 3 different projects. These projects have included the "Grace Follow on Mission", led by the Australian National University, the "Platform Technologies for Space, Atmosphere and Climate" led by RMIT, and most importantly the "Automated Laser Tracking of Space Debris" which is led by EOS themselves, and has received $4 million in ASRP grant funding.
Building on 20 years of technolgy development at EOS, and supported by the ASRP funding, the CTD program will test the EOS optical debris tracking technology in real-time with existing space surveillance radars. The optical technology is able to detect space objects, both satellites and debris to a very high precision - potentially down to one metre, allowing much more precise tracking and collision avoidance.
Perhaps most importantly, the optical tracking technology would be ideal to be used in parallel with the proposed U.S. Space Fence Radar that is likely to be built at the Harold E Holt Naval communications station in Exmouth, Western Australia. There may even be the potential to export this technology to the other U.S. Space Fence facilities.
This is a wonderful example of Australian technology, being supported through small amounts of Australian government funding at critical times - both civilian and defence, to allow cutting edge technology to be developed and brought to the market.
Well done to the team at EOS - I hope the CTD program goes well, and allows you to continue to demonstrate the world leading technology that you have developed.
Canberra based EOS has also seen success in the recent Australian Space Research Program, where they have been involved in 3 different projects. These projects have included the "Grace Follow on Mission", led by the Australian National University, the "Platform Technologies for Space, Atmosphere and Climate" led by RMIT, and most importantly the "Automated Laser Tracking of Space Debris" which is led by EOS themselves, and has received $4 million in ASRP grant funding.
Building on 20 years of technolgy development at EOS, and supported by the ASRP funding, the CTD program will test the EOS optical debris tracking technology in real-time with existing space surveillance radars. The optical technology is able to detect space objects, both satellites and debris to a very high precision - potentially down to one metre, allowing much more precise tracking and collision avoidance.
Perhaps most importantly, the optical tracking technology would be ideal to be used in parallel with the proposed U.S. Space Fence Radar that is likely to be built at the Harold E Holt Naval communications station in Exmouth, Western Australia. There may even be the potential to export this technology to the other U.S. Space Fence facilities.
This is a wonderful example of Australian technology, being supported through small amounts of Australian government funding at critical times - both civilian and defence, to allow cutting edge technology to be developed and brought to the market.
Well done to the team at EOS - I hope the CTD program goes well, and allows you to continue to demonstrate the world leading technology that you have developed.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Australian Space Needs: Telecommunications
Australia is one of the most suited countries in the world for Satellite based telecommunications due to our large size, and geographically spread population. It is also no surprise that Telecommunications has been one of Australia’s most successful segments of the space industry for many years. Globally speaking it is also one of the most successful commercial industries within space with an estimate $80 Billion revenue size.
Telecommunications encompasses a wide range of different applications that Australians use every day, without paying much attention to it. Space based telecommunications used in Australia include:
Telecommunications encompasses a wide range of different applications that Australians use every day, without paying much attention to it. Space based telecommunications used in Australia include:
- Television broadcasting
- Consumer Broadband Internet Services
- Satellite Telephone Services
- Telecommunications backhaul services
- Remote Site Communications such as mining sites or defence requirements
The Australian Space Government website identifies that there are at least 14 satellite operators
that provide satellite communications to, from and within Australia, and the
ACMA highlights that growth in the global industry was 38% from 2000 to 2005, with
this level of growth expected to continue. So far this year, many
telecommunications companies have released close to double-digit business
growth including Optus who recently reported a 9% jump in Satellite revenue.
A little bit of
history....
Back in the
early 80’s, a government telecommunications provider called Aussat was created,
and on the 27th of August 1985 launched its first satellite – Aussat A1 via the
Space Shuttle Discovey. Aussat A1 provided communications services for both
civilian and military needs, as well as television broadcast to remote regions
in Australia. It was located at 160° east in Geostationary orbit, and remained
operational until 1993.
Aussat A1 being launched from the Space Shuttle Discovery (Photo: Spaceinfo.com.au)
Not long after,
Aussat A2 and A3 were launched in November 1985 and September 1987
respectively, providing Aussat with a fleet of operational telecommunications
satellites in orbit, and a unique capability to Australia. The A-series
satellites were Ku Band satellites, and were built by Hughes (now Boeing).
In 1992, Optus purchased Aussat
including the A-series of satellites, and moved ahead in acquiring the B-series
of satellites to meet growing demand. On the 13th of August 1992, the Optus B-1
satellite was launched, with the launch failure of the Optus B-2 satellite
occurring the 21st of
December 1992. Optus B-3 was then developed and launched on the 27th of August 1994 to replaced the failed
B-2 satellite.
The Optus B3 Satellite (Photo Credit: Optus)
For the next generation of satellites, Optus
teamed up with the Australia department of Defence, with Optus C-1 using the Ku
band for civilian telecommunications, and UHF, X and Ka bands for defence
purposes. Optus C-1 carries significant television broadcasts, including
Foxtel, ABC Australia, Aurora (remote free to air television), and other
channel’s (7,9,10) digital broadcasts.
The D-series of satellites include D-1 (launch: 13th Oct 2006), D-2 (launch: 5th Oct 2007), and D-3 (launch: 21st August 2009). These satellites replaced the B-1 and B-3 Satellites at end of life, and expanded capacity of the C-1 satellite through co-location. The D-series of satellites provides television broadcast services, two way voice and data services to Australia and New Zealand, as well as services to Australian and NZ government departments.
The D-series of satellites include D-1 (launch: 13th Oct 2006), D-2 (launch: 5th Oct 2007), and D-3 (launch: 21st August 2009). These satellites replaced the B-1 and B-3 Satellites at end of life, and expanded capacity of the C-1 satellite through co-location. The D-series of satellites provides television broadcast services, two way voice and data services to Australia and New Zealand, as well as services to Australian and NZ government departments.
The Optus D1 Satellite (Photo Credit: Optus)
In total, Aussat / Optus has had a fleet of 9 working
satellites – certainly the biggest of any Australian organisation.
What’s next for
Satellites?
Looking to the
future, there are several major developments underway that will underpin the
future of space based telecommunications in Australia for the years to come.
Firstly, Optus has recently
announced that it has just ordered a next generation Ku satellite (currently
named Optus 10), and is planned for launch in 2013. This will ensure that their
capabilities will last long into the 2020’s.
NBNCo is right in the
middle of making a decision about ordering two Ka band satellites to cover the
complete Australian continent, allowing high speed broadband and
telecommunications to all those Australians not covered by fibre optic or
wireless technologies.
Thirdly, a
company called NewSat is
planning on launching its own fleet of telecommunications satellites called
“Jabiru” over the coming years, and are in the advanced planning stages of the
satellite procurement.
In this respect,
the space based telecommunications future in Australia looks very bright!
Ground Segments
On the ground
segment side of things, Space based telecommunications has had a long and
successful history in Australia. Just before Aussat A1 was launched, Aussat
(now Optus) also opened its Sydney Earth Station at Belrose, which still remains
one of the most important space facilities in Australia. I’d also highly
recommend the recent ARN
article here about the Belrose earth station – it’s a great read.
The Optus Belrose facility (Photo credit: ITnews)
In addition to the Optus facility at Belrose, Australia also
plays host to a number of major ground segments for international space agencies
including NASA, ESA, JAXA. Major ground stations around Australia include the NASA
Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex at Tidbinbilla, the Perth
International Telecommunications Centre, ESA’s facility at New Norcia and the
NewSat centres at Bayswater and Mawson Lakes.
Main defence ground segments include the Australian Defence
Satellite Communications Station (ADSCS) at Geraldton, the Shoal Bay receiving station,
and the Joint Defence Facility at Pine Gap.
For those of you who are interested in the ground segment side of things, the ACMA currently has a discussion paper out about Earth Station siting – particularly in relation to spectrum issues. You can read more about this or make a submission here with the pdf of the paper here
For those of you who are interested in the ground segment side of things, the ACMA currently has a discussion paper out about Earth Station siting – particularly in relation to spectrum issues. You can read more about this or make a submission here with the pdf of the paper here
The Space Telecommunications industry in Australia has had a long and successful history in Australia and and has a very bright
future, both in Space and On-ground. With Optus, NBNCo and NewSat all looking to build new satellites over
the coming few years - expect big things to come.
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