The recent visit of the President of the United States of America Barack Obama to Australia saw two space agreements renewed, continuing the Australian / US cooperation in Space. NASA and the Department of Industry, Innovation, Science and Research (DIISR) have announced their intention to extend two bilateral space agreements that would otherwise expire in 2012.
The first, the Space Vehicle Tracking and Communications Facilities Agreement (1980), is for CSIRO to operate the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex (CDSCC) – one of NASA’s three main global deep space communications facilities. The updated agreement will come into force on the 26th of February 2012, and is extended until Feb 26, 2014.
The exchange of notes can be found here and here.
The second agreement is the Scientific Ballooning Agreement (2006) to allow NASA and Australian partners (CSIRO, UNSW etc) to develop civil payloads and technology for NASA high altitude balloon missions, building upon agreements on scientific ballooning agreements since 1984. The agreement also allows Australian scientists to be involved in the NASA ballooning campaigns, with each balloon campaign that NASA undertakes is estimated to contribute $5 Million to the Australian economy. The treaty exchange of notes can be found here, with the National Interest Analysis is here with the agreement to be renewed on the 12 June 2012 after expiry of the current agreement.
I note that both analysis highlight that NASA has spent ‘in excess of $740 million’ on space-related activities in Australia since 1960 – that’s a sizable sum of money!
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
China uses Australian Space Tracking Station
The South Morning China Post in Hong Kong is reporting that China has both acquired and used a space tracking station in Dongara, Western Australia for the recent Shenzhou VIII Mission.
Space Boomerang understands that the Dongara facility is actually owned and operated by the Universal Space Network - a U.S. Based subsidiary of the Sweedish Space Corporation (SSC). The site itself has two main antenna's for TT&C and Satellite Data Downlink, supporting S-Band, X-Band and Ku-Band services. It is also hosted next to the Yarragadee / MOBLAS-5 facility that is run by Electro-Optic Systems (EOS) for Geoscience Australia.
The South Morning China Post article focuses on the fact that China has managed to acquire a space tracking station in Australia, a major U.S. ally with major space and tracking facilities of its own in Australia.
It is understood that the Chinese were renting the site from SSC, which is in fact a regular practice, with SSC's customers for the Universal Space Network including NASA, ESA, CNES, JAXA, KARI and a number of other global space companies and agencies, and Chinese use of the facility is a welcome and positive development. The reports do not seem to indicate that a dedicated tracking antenna or facility has been developed and installed for sole use of the Chinese, although it is likely that China has provided some of its own dedicated equipment for use at the station.
It is good to see Australia play a positive role in Civilian Space development, as it provides a unique geographic location that is valuable for many satellite tracking and communications activities. China is one of the latest countries to take advantage of this situation, and Australia should continue to foster the development of the civilian and peaceful use of space with many international partners.
Space Boomerang understands that the Dongara facility is actually owned and operated by the Universal Space Network - a U.S. Based subsidiary of the Sweedish Space Corporation (SSC). The site itself has two main antenna's for TT&C and Satellite Data Downlink, supporting S-Band, X-Band and Ku-Band services. It is also hosted next to the Yarragadee / MOBLAS-5 facility that is run by Electro-Optic Systems (EOS) for Geoscience Australia.
The South Morning China Post article focuses on the fact that China has managed to acquire a space tracking station in Australia, a major U.S. ally with major space and tracking facilities of its own in Australia.
It is understood that the Chinese were renting the site from SSC, which is in fact a regular practice, with SSC's customers for the Universal Space Network including NASA, ESA, CNES, JAXA, KARI and a number of other global space companies and agencies, and Chinese use of the facility is a welcome and positive development. The reports do not seem to indicate that a dedicated tracking antenna or facility has been developed and installed for sole use of the Chinese, although it is likely that China has provided some of its own dedicated equipment for use at the station.
It is good to see Australia play a positive role in Civilian Space development, as it provides a unique geographic location that is valuable for many satellite tracking and communications activities. China is one of the latest countries to take advantage of this situation, and Australia should continue to foster the development of the civilian and peaceful use of space with many international partners.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Geoscience Australia publishes landmark Australian Earth Observation Needs Paper
Geoscience Australia has recently undertaken a significant amount of work looking into exactly what Earth Observation data from space that Australia needs up to 2015.
As a result, Geoscience Australia has just published a landmark paper called "Continuity of Earth Observation Data for Australia - Operational Requirements to 2015 for Lands, Coasts and Oceans", which you can download for free here.
It is a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the Australian governments use of Earth Observation Data from space, and provides a snapshot of the current risks of Australia facing a shortfall of data before 2015.
Whilst the entire report is worth reading in detail, I can highly recommend taking a look at the summary sections, as well as the sections on 'economic value' and 'applications and usage of EOS'.
I thought it would be interesting to reproduce the "key points" summary of the document here (copyright from Geoscience Australia):
1. Earth Observations from Space (EOS) data have become pivotal to most environmental monitoring activities being undertaken by federal and state governments in Australia.
2. Australia is totally reliant on foreign satellites for EOS data.
3. Of the 22 EOS sensors currently being used for operational programs in Australia, 19 (86%) are expected to cease functioning by 2015.
4. Australia has not secured access to any future space-based sensors that are relevant to observing the Australian land mass and its coastal regions.
5. Alternate, non satellite-based sources of data do not exist for most types of space-based EOS data, especially those used for environmental monitoring programs.
6. In contrast with the projected rapidly decreasing access to EOS data, Australia’s EOS requirements are expected to increase significantly over the next decade. To support a sample set of 91 operational government programs, the total annual EOS data storage requirements in 2015 were conservatively estimated at 1.2 PB per year. This represents a twentyfold increase on current annual EOS data storage. These estimates do not include meteorological applications, research and development activities, or new sensor technologies.
7. Two data types, medium resolution optical and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), are most at risk of data gaps before 2015 for land and marine applications.
8. Data continuity for low and high resolution optical data, and for passive microwave data, is also of concern, but improved access to these data types has a lower priority due to the availability of alternative data sources and/or current levels of data usage in land and coastal applications.
9. Urgent action is needed to ensure that the imminent and potentially damaging EOS data gaps are not realised.
10. Australia’s participation in the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) and ESA’s Sentinel missions would significantly reduce the risk of the projected EOS data gaps in the high priority data types and should be the focus of immediate action. It should also be a priority to encourage an on-going Landsat program.
11. As a matter of priority Australia needs to formalise agreements with several upcoming EOS missions, and formulate a decadal infrastructure plan to safeguard the supply of EOS data.
Honestly, these key conclusions make you wonder why there is not a higher priority placed on solving these by the government. Perhaps the reason is that until now, there has not yet been a real understanding of the complete picture of Australia's EOS needs, or at least one as comprehensive as this.
It does present us with a sobering picture of the immediate need to address the access issues to the vital earth observation data that is used so widely within Australian governments.
A couple of other quotations from the report that I thought were worth highlighting:
(p15)
At present, over 70 federal and state organisations regularly acquire and/or utilise EOS data from satellites controlled by China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Nigeria, UK, USA or the European Commission (Geoscience Australia, 2010).
(p16)
There is currently no wholistic, national strategy on EOS to ensure that Australia’s data needs will be satisfied into the future, through access to available data sources and/or adequate archiving of current imagery for potential future use, nor is there any strategy to coordinate Australian involvement in international EOS related activities.
(p68)
The ramifications of these projected data gaps would impact the Australian environment, population and economy, as well as Australia’s international credibility. The GDP contribution of the Australian EOS sector has been valued at $3.3 billion per annum (ACIL Tasman, 2010), with significant increases expected in future years. In light of the current government expenditure on remote sensing of approximately $100 million per annum (Geoscience Australia, 2010), this equates to a return on investment of more than 30 to one. The potential data gaps would jeopardise both current and future economic benefits derived from EOS in Australia.
Quite stunning numbers from an economic perspective - particularly a 30 to one return on investment, although on the flip side, we are potentially risking Billions by not addressing this issue. It also highlights to me that the Australian Government Space interest has essentially been 'drifting' up until the last few years, and that only now are we starting to appreciate the challenges and risks that we face. This is precisely why we need a whole of government approach to solve these issues, as having 70 different federal and state organisations do this independently is absurd.
One observation I do have on the report is that I am surprised that no mention is made of a possible Australian satellite to solve some of the data shortages. Such a satellite allows us to guarantee data continuity that is tailored to Australia's needs, and controlled by our government. It would be a very good way of managing the risks to EOS data, and we could also contribute back to those countries that continue to provide us EOS data.
Now I understand that this paper represents the 'User's needs' document, and doesn't aim to address how these needs should be solved - that is probably best done in a future infrastructure report or as a response to this paper. However, much attention is paid to potential agreements to secure access, so the possibility of a dedicated "Geoscience Australia" satellite could be considered.
Regardless, it is hard to go past the fact that Geoscience Australia has published a widely consulted, well prepared report that will be a strong input into the future Australian Space Policy.
As a result, Geoscience Australia has just published a landmark paper called "Continuity of Earth Observation Data for Australia - Operational Requirements to 2015 for Lands, Coasts and Oceans", which you can download for free here.
It is a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the Australian governments use of Earth Observation Data from space, and provides a snapshot of the current risks of Australia facing a shortfall of data before 2015.
Whilst the entire report is worth reading in detail, I can highly recommend taking a look at the summary sections, as well as the sections on 'economic value' and 'applications and usage of EOS'.
I thought it would be interesting to reproduce the "key points" summary of the document here (copyright from Geoscience Australia):
1. Earth Observations from Space (EOS) data have become pivotal to most environmental monitoring activities being undertaken by federal and state governments in Australia.
2. Australia is totally reliant on foreign satellites for EOS data.
3. Of the 22 EOS sensors currently being used for operational programs in Australia, 19 (86%) are expected to cease functioning by 2015.
4. Australia has not secured access to any future space-based sensors that are relevant to observing the Australian land mass and its coastal regions.
5. Alternate, non satellite-based sources of data do not exist for most types of space-based EOS data, especially those used for environmental monitoring programs.
6. In contrast with the projected rapidly decreasing access to EOS data, Australia’s EOS requirements are expected to increase significantly over the next decade. To support a sample set of 91 operational government programs, the total annual EOS data storage requirements in 2015 were conservatively estimated at 1.2 PB per year. This represents a twentyfold increase on current annual EOS data storage. These estimates do not include meteorological applications, research and development activities, or new sensor technologies.
7. Two data types, medium resolution optical and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), are most at risk of data gaps before 2015 for land and marine applications.
8. Data continuity for low and high resolution optical data, and for passive microwave data, is also of concern, but improved access to these data types has a lower priority due to the availability of alternative data sources and/or current levels of data usage in land and coastal applications.
9. Urgent action is needed to ensure that the imminent and potentially damaging EOS data gaps are not realised.
10. Australia’s participation in the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) and ESA’s Sentinel missions would significantly reduce the risk of the projected EOS data gaps in the high priority data types and should be the focus of immediate action. It should also be a priority to encourage an on-going Landsat program.
11. As a matter of priority Australia needs to formalise agreements with several upcoming EOS missions, and formulate a decadal infrastructure plan to safeguard the supply of EOS data.
Honestly, these key conclusions make you wonder why there is not a higher priority placed on solving these by the government. Perhaps the reason is that until now, there has not yet been a real understanding of the complete picture of Australia's EOS needs, or at least one as comprehensive as this.
It does present us with a sobering picture of the immediate need to address the access issues to the vital earth observation data that is used so widely within Australian governments.
A couple of other quotations from the report that I thought were worth highlighting:
(p15)
At present, over 70 federal and state organisations regularly acquire and/or utilise EOS data from satellites controlled by China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Nigeria, UK, USA or the European Commission (Geoscience Australia, 2010).
(p16)
There is currently no wholistic, national strategy on EOS to ensure that Australia’s data needs will be satisfied into the future, through access to available data sources and/or adequate archiving of current imagery for potential future use, nor is there any strategy to coordinate Australian involvement in international EOS related activities.
(p68)
The ramifications of these projected data gaps would impact the Australian environment, population and economy, as well as Australia’s international credibility. The GDP contribution of the Australian EOS sector has been valued at $3.3 billion per annum (ACIL Tasman, 2010), with significant increases expected in future years. In light of the current government expenditure on remote sensing of approximately $100 million per annum (Geoscience Australia, 2010), this equates to a return on investment of more than 30 to one. The potential data gaps would jeopardise both current and future economic benefits derived from EOS in Australia.
Quite stunning numbers from an economic perspective - particularly a 30 to one return on investment, although on the flip side, we are potentially risking Billions by not addressing this issue. It also highlights to me that the Australian Government Space interest has essentially been 'drifting' up until the last few years, and that only now are we starting to appreciate the challenges and risks that we face. This is precisely why we need a whole of government approach to solve these issues, as having 70 different federal and state organisations do this independently is absurd.
One observation I do have on the report is that I am surprised that no mention is made of a possible Australian satellite to solve some of the data shortages. Such a satellite allows us to guarantee data continuity that is tailored to Australia's needs, and controlled by our government. It would be a very good way of managing the risks to EOS data, and we could also contribute back to those countries that continue to provide us EOS data.
Now I understand that this paper represents the 'User's needs' document, and doesn't aim to address how these needs should be solved - that is probably best done in a future infrastructure report or as a response to this paper. However, much attention is paid to potential agreements to secure access, so the possibility of a dedicated "Geoscience Australia" satellite could be considered.
Regardless, it is hard to go past the fact that Geoscience Australia has published a widely consulted, well prepared report that will be a strong input into the future Australian Space Policy.
'The Dish' turns 50
The Parkes Observatory (Photo: CSIRO
This week saw the Parkes Observatory (also known as 'The Dish') celebrate 50 years of Operations. One of Australia's most well known science facilities, the Parkes Observatory is famous for its role in the Apollo 11 Moon landing as well as its depiction by the Australian film 'The Dish' in 2000.
The Observatory itself is located in Parkes, NSW, and is a 64m movable radio telescope. Behind the physical dish, there are a series of receivers and processing electronics that have been upgraded over the last 50 years making the Observatory more than 10,000 times more sensitive than when it was built. The Observatory is capable of observing frequency ranges of 0.3 to 43 GHz, and operates 24 hours per day, every day of the year.
The facility itself remains highly popular with tourists, with around 120,000 people visiting the Observatory every year. It is also one of the most successful Radio telescopes in terms of its science output, ranking 3rd in global science paper citations.
Google Australia also marked the celebration with a 'google doodle' for the day.
The Parkes Observatory 50th Birthday Google Doodle (Image: Google)
Lets hope the next 50 years are just as productive and successful for this iconic Australian Science facility.
Happy Birthday!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Moon Mining: BHP's next frontier?
Australia's BHP Billiton is, by anyone's standard, a big company. In fact, it is the world's largest mining company by revenue, and is one of the world's biggest companies by market capitalisation. In August this year, it announced the biggest profit in Australian corporate history, and most of the investments it announces are spoken about in tens of billions of dollars. In fact, BHP is actually bigger than the economy of many small nations around the world.
They are experts at what they do - "discovery, acquisition, development and marketing of natural resources", and have a strong track record of success.
Recently, the moon has become increasingly attractive from a mining perspective with the discovery of higher concentrations of valuable and sometimes rare minerals. This year the US Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has helped identify that the Moon has much higher amounts of Titanium Ore than previously expected, together with large quantities of platinum, iron, oxygen and an element known as Helium-3 that is rare on earth but very useful for Nuclear fusion research.
The moon is also known to have deposits of several rare-earth minerals such as Yttrium and Dysprosium, and we now know that the moon contains a small amount of water, that could be very useful for any future mining operation or settlement.
The combined quantity of these minerals has now attracted the attention of some serious entrepreneurs, who are pressing ahead with the business case of a moon mining venture. Moon Express was founded in 2011 by a set of successful silicon valley entrepreneurs, combined with some great space minds to develop a spacecraft that can take a 100kg payload to the surface of the moon, win the Google Lunar X-Prize and to build the business case to mine the moon. Whilst previous start-ups have set such goals and failed, Moon Express was founded by a group of highly successful business people who have money to invest, have received backing and support from NASA, and have already been testing several of the critical technologies required to get to the moon. They are currently looking at a 2013-2014 time frame for their first moon landing - which is not really that far away!
Meanwhile, back closer to home, BHP Billiton and other major mining companies, are slowly perfecting the ability to operate a mine from a remote location and are turning more and more to robotic technology to run their mines, both of which are ideally suited for a moon mining operation. They have also had a remarkable few years in terms of financial results, and now have the financial reserves to look at a variety of new and major resource opportunities.
Several estimates have suggested a moon mining operation would be in the order of $20 Billion to set up, which is similar to a medium mine setup cost on earth, and one that BHP Billiton invests on a somewhat regular basis. BHP is also one of the few companies that has the financial strength and technology to actually assess, invest and make a success of such an operation.
In addition, a moon mining venture would open up major scientific and space tourism opportunities, as well as develop a new suite of space technologies that would make the business case even more attractive. Whilst each of these may not be economically viable on their own, together the business case might make sense.
The aim of this article is not to outline the business case for mining the moon, or in fact call for BHP to start mining the moon tomorrow - I understand that this concept is not seriously considered within the mainstream space industry. The idea is rather to provoke some discussion of how we can take some of the best capabilities Australia has, and apply them to a space application to deliver real and sustainable outcomes.
Of course, such a venture will not be possible for the better part of this decade in reality, but I do believe it is time we start thinking about the real business conversation about a moon mine, that comes with a unique set of logistics challenges to say the least.
A venture such as moon mining and settlement will need to deliver financial returns to shareholders over the long term to be sustainable, and I'm not quite sure we're at that point yet. However, in the corridors of the BHP headquarters in Melbourne, is it not time that someone starts paying attention to Moon Mining? The concept has started moving from the science fiction world to the real world, and it will not be long before countries like China and India will have the technologies, resources, and the political motivation to undertake such a venture, with no competitors in the market and no other nation to interfere.
Perhaps it's time to start developing the business case numbers, and possibly even time to start looking at how such an operation could be set-up. BHP, together with a major Aerospace company such as a Lockheed Martin or Boeing, would have the resources and expertise to build an end-to-end business case, to determine at what cost the venture becomes viable.
As time goes by, we continue to find more resources on the moon and the price of launch continues to drop. At the same time, the price of resources on earth trends up, and the cost of obtaining them generally increases, as we have mined the easiest-to-access resources first.
At some point, the business case will become viable. When it does, I hope it is companies like BHP Billiton who will be amongst the pioneers of moon mining.
They are experts at what they do - "discovery, acquisition, development and marketing of natural resources", and have a strong track record of success.
Recently, the moon has become increasingly attractive from a mining perspective with the discovery of higher concentrations of valuable and sometimes rare minerals. This year the US Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has helped identify that the Moon has much higher amounts of Titanium Ore than previously expected, together with large quantities of platinum, iron, oxygen and an element known as Helium-3 that is rare on earth but very useful for Nuclear fusion research.
The moon is also known to have deposits of several rare-earth minerals such as Yttrium and Dysprosium, and we now know that the moon contains a small amount of water, that could be very useful for any future mining operation or settlement.
The combined quantity of these minerals has now attracted the attention of some serious entrepreneurs, who are pressing ahead with the business case of a moon mining venture. Moon Express was founded in 2011 by a set of successful silicon valley entrepreneurs, combined with some great space minds to develop a spacecraft that can take a 100kg payload to the surface of the moon, win the Google Lunar X-Prize and to build the business case to mine the moon. Whilst previous start-ups have set such goals and failed, Moon Express was founded by a group of highly successful business people who have money to invest, have received backing and support from NASA, and have already been testing several of the critical technologies required to get to the moon. They are currently looking at a 2013-2014 time frame for their first moon landing - which is not really that far away!
Meanwhile, back closer to home, BHP Billiton and other major mining companies, are slowly perfecting the ability to operate a mine from a remote location and are turning more and more to robotic technology to run their mines, both of which are ideally suited for a moon mining operation. They have also had a remarkable few years in terms of financial results, and now have the financial reserves to look at a variety of new and major resource opportunities.
Several estimates have suggested a moon mining operation would be in the order of $20 Billion to set up, which is similar to a medium mine setup cost on earth, and one that BHP Billiton invests on a somewhat regular basis. BHP is also one of the few companies that has the financial strength and technology to actually assess, invest and make a success of such an operation.
In addition, a moon mining venture would open up major scientific and space tourism opportunities, as well as develop a new suite of space technologies that would make the business case even more attractive. Whilst each of these may not be economically viable on their own, together the business case might make sense.
The aim of this article is not to outline the business case for mining the moon, or in fact call for BHP to start mining the moon tomorrow - I understand that this concept is not seriously considered within the mainstream space industry. The idea is rather to provoke some discussion of how we can take some of the best capabilities Australia has, and apply them to a space application to deliver real and sustainable outcomes.
Of course, such a venture will not be possible for the better part of this decade in reality, but I do believe it is time we start thinking about the real business conversation about a moon mine, that comes with a unique set of logistics challenges to say the least.
A venture such as moon mining and settlement will need to deliver financial returns to shareholders over the long term to be sustainable, and I'm not quite sure we're at that point yet. However, in the corridors of the BHP headquarters in Melbourne, is it not time that someone starts paying attention to Moon Mining? The concept has started moving from the science fiction world to the real world, and it will not be long before countries like China and India will have the technologies, resources, and the political motivation to undertake such a venture, with no competitors in the market and no other nation to interfere.
Perhaps it's time to start developing the business case numbers, and possibly even time to start looking at how such an operation could be set-up. BHP, together with a major Aerospace company such as a Lockheed Martin or Boeing, would have the resources and expertise to build an end-to-end business case, to determine at what cost the venture becomes viable.
As time goes by, we continue to find more resources on the moon and the price of launch continues to drop. At the same time, the price of resources on earth trends up, and the cost of obtaining them generally increases, as we have mined the easiest-to-access resources first.
At some point, the business case will become viable. When it does, I hope it is companies like BHP Billiton who will be amongst the pioneers of moon mining.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
11th Australian Space Science Conference Outcomes
The 11th Australian Space Science Conference wrapped up on the 29th of September, after 4 successful days of Australia's best and brightest space scientists and engineers gathering at the Australian National University.
• Urgent attention be given to ensuring that Australia has access to data from the next generation of Earth observation and geodetic satellites – to include the establishment of relevant agreements and the necessary remediation of Australia’s ground reception, processing and dissemination infrastructure;
• Continuation of the Australian Space Research Program; and
• Urgent attention be given to providing space education to public officials to ensure they understand why they are being encouraged to spend time and money on developing national capacity and capability in space – that Australia has considerable dependency and associated vulnerability on space, which can be addressed by supporting and strengthening our space science and engineering which in turn will strengthen our international space credentials and credibility
Some great ideas to create and sustain a vital space capability within Australia.
Three points I would like to pick up on here:
1. The mention of "bipartisan support" for a national space policy. In all of the recent Australian Space events, we haven't heard as much as a peep out of the opposition (or at least I haven't seen much). I understand that they broadly supported the Senate Inquiry into the Space Sector in Australia and its recommendations, but beyond that have not spoken much further. In the difficult Australian political context, it is important that both sides of politics understand the importance of Space to Australia, and the critical role it plays to our country, economy and society.
2. The need for sustainability for both political support and funding, to provide certainty to the space market, investors, and the industry as a whole. As an industry, we cannot survive and prosper under an ever changing context, and the broader space market in Australia has a need for certainty of its future. All other space nations have a long term vision for their space sector, with short term goals and aspirations. Australia should look to develop a long term vision within its space policy, one that directly serves the interests of Australians.
3. There continues to be an 'education' problem within both the parliament, as well as the broader Australian government. Most people just don't understand what Australia uses space for, and people find it difficult to support a vision that they don't understand. Space should not, and cannot be thought of as 'sending man to the moon', yet ask an average Australian what they thing of an Australian space program, and that's probably their response. Space in Australia needs to be seen as an extension of the critical national infrastructure that powers much of what we do, just like the provision of roads, water, electricity and the like. Turn it off, and you very quickly find out how important it is. Collectively, we need to keep solving this 'education' problem in Australia.
Congratulations to the National Space Society of Australia for organising the conference, and all of those who attended who made it a success.
The conference saw the release of the Principles for a National Space Industry Policy, the guiding principles behind the future Australian Space Policy that the Space Policy Unit is currently working upon.
As an outcome from the conference, the delegates issued a series of resolutions and recommendations that are worth sharing with you:
The conference resolution concludes:
The delegates Resolve:
The conference resolution concludes:
The delegates Resolve:
• To congratulate the Government, including Parliament, and the Minister for recognising the importance of space to our daily lives, for the investments made and proposed in creating the Space Policy Unit, for funding the Australian Space Research Program, and for forging stronger bilateral and multi-lateral international links in the space domain;
• To acknowledge the substantial investment by the Government in gathering evidence about the uses of space and the importance of space-based utilities to the daily lives of all Australians, to national security, and to the strength of the economy more broadly;
• To congratulate the Government for explicitly recognising the importance of space science research and education in the soon to be released 2011 Research Infrastructure Roadmap and for comprehending the interconnections that exist between the far universe (astronomy), the solar system and Sun/Earth interactions (space science) and the implications for the Earth system (Earth sciences);
• To congratulate and support the Government for its commitment to Australia winning the support of the international astronomical community to host the SKA in Australia, and its support for Australia to become a 10% investor in the Giant Magellan Telescope; and
• To encourage the Government to develop bipartisan support for the finalisation and release of a national space policy noting that this document will assist a whole-of-government approach to space, will raise the profile of space in Australia and of Australia’s space activities internationally, and will help to remove market uncertainty which at present is holding back investors;
The delegates Recommend:
• Funding certainty for the Space Policy Unit, to allow for both growth in size and
dedicated leadership at a level appropriate to inter- and intra-departmental
negotiation and decision making; • To acknowledge the substantial investment by the Government in gathering evidence about the uses of space and the importance of space-based utilities to the daily lives of all Australians, to national security, and to the strength of the economy more broadly;
• To congratulate the Government for explicitly recognising the importance of space science research and education in the soon to be released 2011 Research Infrastructure Roadmap and for comprehending the interconnections that exist between the far universe (astronomy), the solar system and Sun/Earth interactions (space science) and the implications for the Earth system (Earth sciences);
• To congratulate and support the Government for its commitment to Australia winning the support of the international astronomical community to host the SKA in Australia, and its support for Australia to become a 10% investor in the Giant Magellan Telescope; and
• To encourage the Government to develop bipartisan support for the finalisation and release of a national space policy noting that this document will assist a whole-of-government approach to space, will raise the profile of space in Australia and of Australia’s space activities internationally, and will help to remove market uncertainty which at present is holding back investors;
The delegates Recommend:
• Urgent attention be given to ensuring that Australia has access to data from the next generation of Earth observation and geodetic satellites – to include the establishment of relevant agreements and the necessary remediation of Australia’s ground reception, processing and dissemination infrastructure;
• Continuation of the Australian Space Research Program; and
• Urgent attention be given to providing space education to public officials to ensure they understand why they are being encouraged to spend time and money on developing national capacity and capability in space – that Australia has considerable dependency and associated vulnerability on space, which can be addressed by supporting and strengthening our space science and engineering which in turn will strengthen our international space credentials and credibility
Some great ideas to create and sustain a vital space capability within Australia.
Three points I would like to pick up on here:
1. The mention of "bipartisan support" for a national space policy. In all of the recent Australian Space events, we haven't heard as much as a peep out of the opposition (or at least I haven't seen much). I understand that they broadly supported the Senate Inquiry into the Space Sector in Australia and its recommendations, but beyond that have not spoken much further. In the difficult Australian political context, it is important that both sides of politics understand the importance of Space to Australia, and the critical role it plays to our country, economy and society.
2. The need for sustainability for both political support and funding, to provide certainty to the space market, investors, and the industry as a whole. As an industry, we cannot survive and prosper under an ever changing context, and the broader space market in Australia has a need for certainty of its future. All other space nations have a long term vision for their space sector, with short term goals and aspirations. Australia should look to develop a long term vision within its space policy, one that directly serves the interests of Australians.
3. There continues to be an 'education' problem within both the parliament, as well as the broader Australian government. Most people just don't understand what Australia uses space for, and people find it difficult to support a vision that they don't understand. Space should not, and cannot be thought of as 'sending man to the moon', yet ask an average Australian what they thing of an Australian space program, and that's probably their response. Space in Australia needs to be seen as an extension of the critical national infrastructure that powers much of what we do, just like the provision of roads, water, electricity and the like. Turn it off, and you very quickly find out how important it is. Collectively, we need to keep solving this 'education' problem in Australia.
Congratulations to the National Space Society of Australia for organising the conference, and all of those who attended who made it a success.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Australian Scientist Brian Schmidt awarded Nobel Prize for Physics
ANU Professor Brian Schmidt has been awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize for Physics, sharing his award with Professor Saul Perlmutter from the University of California, Berkeley, and Professor Adam Riess from the John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
U.S. Born Australian Professor Schmidt was honoured "for the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe through observations of distant supernovae" according to the Prize announcement.
It continues...
"For almost a century, the Universe has been known to be expanding as a consequence of the Big Bang about 14 billion years ago. However, the discovery that this expansion is accelerating is astounding. If the expansion will continue to speed up the Universe will end in ice.
The acceleration is thought to be driven by dark energy, but what that dark energy is remains an enigma - perhaps the greatest in physics today. What is known is that dark energy constitutes about three quarters of the Universe. Therefore the findings of the 2011 Nobel Laureates in Physics have helped to unveil a Universe that to a large extent is unknown to science. And everything is possible again."
Professor Schmidt becomes only the 12th Australian to ever win a Nobel Prize, and joins a collection of Australia's greatest academic minds including Howard Florey and William and Lawrence Bragg.
The award demonstrates the value of Australia's commitment to world class Astronomy facilities such as Mt Stromlo where Professor Schmidt, and serves as a huge inspiration to all Australian scientists and students alike.
Australia is incredibly proud to see Professor Schmidt take out this award, and it comes as one of Australia's best achievements in the field of physics, having last one the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1915.
Congratulations Professor Schmidt.
U.S. Born Australian Professor Schmidt was honoured "for the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe through observations of distant supernovae" according to the Prize announcement.
It continues...
"For almost a century, the Universe has been known to be expanding as a consequence of the Big Bang about 14 billion years ago. However, the discovery that this expansion is accelerating is astounding. If the expansion will continue to speed up the Universe will end in ice.
The acceleration is thought to be driven by dark energy, but what that dark energy is remains an enigma - perhaps the greatest in physics today. What is known is that dark energy constitutes about three quarters of the Universe. Therefore the findings of the 2011 Nobel Laureates in Physics have helped to unveil a Universe that to a large extent is unknown to science. And everything is possible again."
Professor Schmidt becomes only the 12th Australian to ever win a Nobel Prize, and joins a collection of Australia's greatest academic minds including Howard Florey and William and Lawrence Bragg.
The award demonstrates the value of Australia's commitment to world class Astronomy facilities such as Mt Stromlo where Professor Schmidt, and serves as a huge inspiration to all Australian scientists and students alike.
Australia is incredibly proud to see Professor Schmidt take out this award, and it comes as one of Australia's best achievements in the field of physics, having last one the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1915.
Congratulations Professor Schmidt.
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