Aussies help in SpaceX Dragon Launch

In the recent Space X launch, orbit and re-entry of the Dragon Capsule, the team at University of South Australia's Institute for Telecommunications Research helped track the spacecraft providing vital coverage in the Southern Hemisphere.

The ITR at the University of South Australia researchers helped track the spacecraft's location, direction and vital systems status information, relaying the information back to the US.

The 3-m dish, which was setup as part of the in 1998 as part of the CRC for Satellite Systems, has been involved in a variety of international projects including NASA and ESA projects (including the ATV in 2008 and planned 2011), as well as the Australian Fedsat project.

Well done guys!

Q&A with the Australian Space Policy Unit

I was interested in finding out a little more about what is happening with the Australian Space Policy Development, and the Space Policy Unit in General, and the nice folks at the Space Policy Unit were kind enough to answer a few of my questions - and also to let me share their answers with you all!

For anyone interested in learning more about the Australian Space Policy Unit, head over to their website here.

Thanks again SPU.



Space Boomerang: Can you provide an update on how the National Space Policy Development is going?

Space Policy Unit: The Space Policy Unit has responsibility for development [of] the policy and work is currently continuing.
 The National Space Policy will:

• provide a vision for Australia’s use of space and in so doing support and enhance its national priorities including economic, environmental, social, defence and national security goals
• coordinate space activities within Australia, especially those carried out by or within government
• enhance industry capabilities
• ensure Australia meets its future research, education, and innovation potential
• enhance Australia’s international space relationships for mutual benefit and
• ensure Australia contributes to the global development of the peaceful use of space.

In developing an evidence base for the policy, the Unit engaged experts to assist in the identification of Australia’s domestic space capabilities and strategic priorities and review the International Space Landscape. The outcomes of these studies all supported the direction that Australia’s space policy focus should be in the areas of Earth observation, satellite communications and position, navigation and timing applications.

To ensure a whole of government perspective, the Australian Government Space Forum (AGSF) is involved in the development of the policy. Key government agencies with an interest in space issues are members of the forum, such as the Department of Defence, Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. A full list of members is available at www.space.gov.au.



Space Boomerang: How do you see the recent release of the Decadal Plan for Australian Space Science influencing the space policy?

Space Policy Unit: The Australian Government is pleased that the space community came together to develop its own research priorities and to identify to the Government investment opportunities and rationales within the space sector. The resulting Decadal Plan will be taken into consideration in the development of the National Space Policy.



Space Boomerang: When can we expect to see the release of the National Space Policy?

Space Policy Unit: The Australian Government will make an announcement in 2011.



Space Boomerang: Will the Space Policy cover defence activities, and if so, do you anticipate a common approach to both civilian and defence space activities in Australia?

Space Policy Unit: The National Space Policy will articulate Australia’s role in protecting the space environment. Though we don’t have an indigenous space based capability, our role in looking after the environment for the future should not be diminished. The policy will influence and support an international rules-based approach to the use of space. It will talk about space situational awareness, including space debris, and our role internationally on this.

The nature of these activities means they cover both civil and defence areas. The Unit will work with Defence to ensure the civil space matters covered in the policy as consistent with defence priorities.



Space Boomerang: Will the Space Policy discuss the creation of an Australian Space Agency or equivalent, or potential steps in that direction?

Space Policy Unit: This will be a consideration of the policy. The Space Policy Unit is the central point of contact and coordination for the Australian Government's civil space activities.



Space Boomerang: Will there be a relationship between the Space Policy and the current NBNCo procurement of two Ka band communications satellites in any way?

Space Policy Unit: The procurement of the proposed Ka band communication satellites is the responsibility of the NBNCo.



Space Boomerang: Given the Australian Space Research Program funding will run out in around 2012/2013, will the Space Policy examine funding issues beyond this date?

Space Policy Unit: The policy will support innovation, science and skills development just as the Australian Space Research Program currently does. The policy will consider funding options for these activities.

Defence Satellites Space Systems Program Office looking for several Project Communications Engineers

The Defence Satellites Space Systems Program Office located in Canberra is currently looking for several Project Communications Engineers.

For more info, head over to their ad on SEEK or over to the DMO Jobs Website.

UNSW looking for a Research Associate/Senior Research Associate in Orbit Modelling and Design

In line with their recent ASRP grant, the University of New South Wales is looking for a "Research Associate/Senior Research Associate in Orbit Modelling and Design"

If you're interested, head onto their Job Ad here.

RMIT opens SPACE Research Centre

RMIT has opened a new space research centre aptly named the “Satellite Positioning for Atmosphere, Climate and Environment (SPACE) Research Centre”, dedicated to developing low-cost satellite-based remote sensing products.

As another recipient of an Australian Space Research Program grant, the RMIT centre joins the Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research at the University of NSW as the second major Space centre to open in a matter of days – heralding a major boost for the Australian Space industry.

The centre will involve researchers from the Bureau of Meteorology, Curtin University of Technology, the University of NSW, EOS Systems, GPSat Systems Australia, National Space Organisation Taiwan and NOAA's World Data Centre for Meteorology, providing strong involvement of international partners, and will help the new centre build international space connections.
The Centre, which was opened on the 19th of November by RMIT Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Margaret Gardner AO, will focus on developing platform technologies for space, atmospheric mass density and applications of satellite technologies in climate and space weather. The centre is seen as laying some of the foundations for future Australian small satellite missions.

Currently the four listed research focuses will include “GNSS/surveying theory and algorithm”, “Atmospheric modelling”, “Space and Debris tracking”, and “Smart people mobility and object tracking”.

The centre will be led by professor Kefei Zhang as director. For those interested in knowing more about the RMIT SPACE Research Centre, head over to their website here.

An update on Australian Space (ABC Radio)

For an interesting update on some recent Space Activities in Australia, head over to the ABC Radio National Future Tense Program website to listen to host Antony Funnell interviewing Brett Biddington and Andrew Dempster.

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/futuretense/stories/2010/3080159.htm

Australian Space Research Program Round 3 Winners Announced

Round 3 winners for the Australian Space Research Program have been announced on the 25th of November 2010. This rounds grants have seen 3 winners, one in Stream A - Space Education Development, and two in Space Science and Innovation, sharing $9 Million in funding.

For Stream A, a consortium led by Flinders University that includes the South Australian Department of Education and Children’s Services, the South Australian Museum, the Northern Advanced Manufacturing Industry Group, and Education Services Australia, will undertake a project called "Place and Space: Perspective in Earth Observations". The project, which will receive $950,753, will train 40 teachers in earth observation sciences, and assist over 400 secondary students undertake research projects in space-related topics.

The Second project, which will be led by Lockheed Martin Australia, and includes ANU National Computation Infrastructure, Geoscience Australia, Victoria Partnership for Advanced Computing Ltd, and the CRC for Spatial Information, is titled "Unlocking the LANDSAT Archive for Future Challenges". With funding of $3,472,965, the project will enhance Earth Observation ground based infrastructure, to enable ongoing processing of the national LANDSAT archive. It also hopes to make satellite imagery based environment data in a form usable by researchers, policy makers and private sector.

The Final Project will be led by the University of South Australia, and includes EMS Satcom Pacivfic Pty Ltd, COM DEV International Ltd, DSTO, Sage Automation, CSIRO and the Australian Institute of Marine Science. The project, which will receive $4,998,996 funding, will allow the transmission of data from field instruments to researchers live via satellite, by developing and demonstrating a space-ready comunications payload and complete ground system for use in marine monitoring, defence sensor monitoring and industrial automation scenarios.

For further information, head over to the space.gov.au website or direct to the detail here. This takes the total awarded under the ASRP to $34,222,727 with 11 projects funded so far.

Congratulations to all involved!

Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research opens at UNSW

 The University of New South Wales has launched the Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research (ACSER), using funding from an Australian Space Research Program round 2 grant.

The ACSER will look at developing technologies for Navigation, Earth Observation, Security and space vehicle engineering. It will also help develop and sustain Australian space capabilities and skills, and will play a crucial role in helping develop the Australian Space Industry as a whole. The centre was officially opened by former NASA shuttle astronaut Dr Jan Davis on the 22nd of November. 

ACSER Director, Associate Professor Andrew Dempster, has also written an interesting opinion piece that has been published in Fairfax newspapers last week which can be found here highlighting how Australia was relying on the China National Space Administration for bushfire imagery during the Victorian Bushfires in 2009.

APRSAF-17 kicks off in Melbourne

The 17th Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency forum has kicked off today in Melbourne, with delegates from 30 countries attending the forum. The forum, hosted by the Australian Space Policy Unit, has the them “The role of space technology and industry in addressing climate change”.

The Forum was welcomed today by Australian Space Minister Kim Carr - who highlighted his governments efforts to invest in the space sector and build up international partnerships.

The Forum will host four main working group sessions in parallel, including:

• Earth Observation Working Group
• Space Environment Utilisation (SEU) Working Group
• Space Education Awareness (SEA) Working Group
• Communication Satellite Applications Working Group

The forum continues from the 23rd to the 26th of November at the Crown Convention Centre.

For more information about the APRSAF-17 Forum, head over to their website here.

ASICC Changes its name to the Space Industry Association of Australia

Following the ASICC’s AGM held in Sydney on the 17th of November, the Australian Space Industry Chamber of Commerce has voted unanimously to change its name to the Space Industry Association of Australia Inc.

In other news from the AGM, 19 nominations were received for the 15 available positions on the Executive Council. Those elected include: David Ball, Bill Barrett, Brett Biddington, Michael Davis, Daniel Faber, Roger Franzen, Kirby Ikin, Jeff Kasparian, Shannon Ryan, Chris Schacht, Jack Scott, Glen Tindall, Ian Tuohy, Stephen Ward and Shaun Wilson.

The AGM also saw two sub-groups convened for the first time – one Satcom sub-group, and one Earth Observation sub-group.

The ASICC – or as it will now be know, the SIAA is the leading voice for the Australian Space Industry, and brings together many of Australia’s space industry leaders. All of these new developments bode well for the strengthening of the overall Space Sector in Australia.

For those interested in learning more about the ASICC / SIAA, or joining them to promote the Australian Space Industry, head over to their website here.

Engineers Australia offers a Scholarship to the Southern Hemisphere Summer Space Program

The National Committee on Space Engineering of Engineers Australia has announced that they will be offering a scholarship to the International Space Universities Southern Hemisphere Summer Space Program to be held at the University of South Australia in January next year.

The Scholarship covers the entire course fee of AUD$9,900 and is open to"Engineering graduates and engineering undergraduates in the final two years of their engineering studies who are resident in Australia and who have applied for enrollment in the Southern Hemisphere Summer Space Program"

All those interested should head over here - the deadline for applications is the 30th of November, so be quick!

Woomera Interim Report Released

On the 5th of November, the Australian Government Review of the Woomera Prohibited Area Interim Report was Released, and can be found here.

The report examines the access rights of the different stakeholders in Woomera, and if the management could be improved for all parties, in particular, improving mining access to the Woomera Prohibited Area, that has the potential to exploit large mineral reserves.

The Review was commissioned by the Government in May 2010, and was conducted by Dr Allan Hawke AC.

The review consulted with many parties, in particular Defence, the South Australian Government and the mining industry, and even the Space Policy Unit.

Whilst Woomera is seen as one of Australia’s best defence and aerospace assents due to the incredibly large testing range and significant Space heritage, the Space Policy Unit indicated “it is not aware of any specific civil or commercial space activities, national, or international with definite plans that involve the WPA”, whilst acknowledging the activities of the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, the University of Queensland and the South Australian Space School at Woomera.

The Report states:

“The WPA attracts civil and commercial space activity because of its large size and remote location. The Commonwealth Government acknowledges, however, that the economic benefits of this usage is limited and need only remain a priority to the extent it is compatible with other uses of the WPA."

Hopefully, the increased mining access to Woomera will work nicely side-by-side with any future Space Activities.

The Interim Report is available at www.defence.gov.au/woomerareview, and anyone interested in submitting for the final report can do so before the 3rd of December 2010.

Doubt Cast on Bigelow Aerospace agreement with Australia

Back on October 20th, in my SpaceBoomerang post here, I reported that Australia had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Bigelow Aerospace – quoting an article from Space.com here.

A separate article on Spacenews.com here  also mentions the agreements, and is even mentioned on the Bigelow Aerospace website .

However, SpaceBoomerang has come to understand that there may not be such an agreement with the Australian Government. If this is the case, it is quite surprising to see Robert Bigelow quoted as saying (Source: Space News)

Robert Bigelow, founder and chief executive of North Las Vegas, Nev.-based Bigelow Aerospace, said the company has signed memoranda of understanding with the governments of Australia, Netherlands, Japan, Singapore, Sweden and the United Kingdom. These agreements are not financial commitments, he said, adding that he hopes to secure such commitments by 2012.

SpaceBoomerang calls upon both Bigelow Aerospace to clarify whether such an agreement exists or not, and whether they have been misquoted in these articles.

Australia – US Space Situational Awareness Partnership Statement of Principles

Following on from last the recent agreements between Australia and the United States of America, here is the text for the Statement of Principles. (Source: Minister for Defence website)

AUSTRALIAN-UNITED STATES SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS PARTNERSHIP

Statement of Principles

• The Space Situational Awareness Partnership builds on the long history of close defense space cooperation between Australia and the United States that has formed a cornerstone of our alliance for over four decades.
• Our two Governments will work together in the spirit of cooperation on the space situational awareness partnership for the mutual benefit of our countries’ national security.
• Recognizing the importance of space situational awareness to protect our national interests, and support global peace and security, Australia and the United States will investigate the potential for jointly establishing and operating space situational awareness facilities in Australia to support the United States space surveillance network and to support the development of Australia’s space situational awareness and mission assurance capability.
• Understanding the vital role of space surveillance to protect our countries’ national interests, Australia and the United States will share the necessary space situational awareness information and technical data, and recognize each country’s space situational awareness priorities.
• In making use of the space situational awareness joint facilities, each government will respect the sovereignty and respective laws of the other.
• In recognition of Australian sovereignty, the contemplated space situational awareness joint facilities will operate in a manner that ensures the Australian Government has full knowledge of, and concurs with, any activities being undertaken in, through or from Australian territory.
• In the construction and operation of any space situational awareness joint facility, each Government will comply with its relevant laws and regulations.
• This statement of principles will form the basis for establishing the space situational awareness partnership and our nations’ expanded defense space cooperation activities.

For Australia                                                                                For the United States

The Hon Stephen Smith                                                                  Dr. Robert M. Gates

Minister for Defence                                                  United States Secretary of Defense

SpaceBoomerang gets a mention on Aviation Week

Great to See that SpaceBoomerang got a mention in Michael A. Taverna’s Aviation Week article “Australia, U.S. Join on Space Situational Awareness”.

Australia and the United States sign a Civil Space Cooperation Framework Agreement

During a meeting between Australian and United States Government Officials in Washington DC on the 26th and 27th of October, Australia and the United Sates signed a joint "Statement on Bilateral Cooperation in the Civil Use of GPS and Civil Space Activities", reinforcing and expanding previous agreements.

Within the meeting, officials reviewed the progress achieved so far on the "Joint Delegation Statement on Cooperation in the Civil Use of GPS and Space-Based Positioning Navigation and Timing (PNT) Systems and Applications" signed in April 2007.

According to the announcement: "The first day's discussion covered the broad and growing use of the U.S. Global Positioning system (GPS) and its augmentations in the air transport field, the installation of ground monitoring stations that will improve performance of current and emerging Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and applications for GPS including national spatial reference systems, weather forecasting, climate observation, space weather, and important economic uses of GPS time. The second day's discussion focused on U.S. and Australian space policy developments, long term sustainability of space activities and bilateral space science cooperation."

The announcement goes on to say "The framework will encompass collaboration on important space applications such as satellite-based land and sea remote sensing, climate change research and meteorology, and space-based PNT, as well as opportunities for early discussions on new systems and future civil space-related missions under development." which is very much in line with the Australian Space Policy Unit's current interests.

“Civil space infrastructure is critical to all Australians. Every day, we use civil space systems for applications ranging from GPS navigation, to land and sea remote sensing. This agreement formalises Australia’s continued access,” said Innovation Minister Senator Kim Carr (or Minister for Space as I like to call him).

The US and Australia will review cooperative civil space related activities between the countries anually, and engage in perioudic consultation to pursue the goals of the proposed core framework.

The statement can be found here, with the Media Release found here.

This is the second major space announcement within a few days between Australia and the United States, one military, one civilian. It is a strong sign of the current US administration's goal to engage with more international partners in Space, and such tight cooperation is likely to have a large influence on the Australian Space Policy under development.

AUSMIN Announces Space Cooperation between the United States and Australia

As discussed in my previous article Space Surveillance Site to be Built in Western Australia, as part of the 25th Australia-United States Ministerial Conultations on the 8th of November 2010, Minister for Australian Foreign Affairs Kevin Rudd, Australian Minister for Defence Stephen Smith, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, have discussed the possibility of cooperation in Space Surveillance and Security.

In a sign of the increasing importance of Space in Australia - the "Joint Statement on Space Security" indicates "Australia and the United States both recognise that space systems have become critical national infrastructure."

"Australia intends to work with the United States to progress efforts to prevent long-lived debris-creating behaviour, and develop and implement transparency and confidence-building measures for enhanced stability and safety in space activities."

During the AUSMIN, Australian Defence Minister Smith and Defence Secretary Gates signed a "Space Situational Awareness Partnership Statement of Principles". This is also seen as a strengthening of Australia's already close relationship with U.S. Defence on issues of Space.

In practice, the US and Australia are considering a joint Space Surveillance facility which is likely to be built at the Harold E. Holt communications base at Exmouth in Western Australia. At the moment, it is likely that the facility would use Radar technologies, but may also include a component of Optical tracking. Australia is actually very well positioned, as there are likely some technology parallels with the Jindallee Over the Horizon Radar Network (JORN), and even more importantly, the technology that EOS has been working on would be an obvious candidate for development and inclusion.

What this will mean is the US will get much better tracking of Space objects in the Southern Hemisphere - currently underserved within the Space Surveillance field. Secondly, better tracking will in theory lead to fewer collisions in space, as well as better transparency of space objects internationally. Thirdly, it will give Australia a major boost in Space Survellance knowledge, as well as major developments in both technology and personnely related to Space. If such a facility is built, Australian defence will be significantly boosting their space capabilities, a good sign for the future.

In an interesting footnote, the joint statement includes " Complementing this work, Australia and the United States also noted the ongoing discussions on developing an Australia-United States Civil Space Cooperation Framework Agreement to take the long-standing civil space cooperation between the two countries to a higher level, strengthen collaboration and provide opportunities for early discussions on new developments. Australia and the United States reaffirmed their commitment to intensify space cooperation across a range of common interests and decided to review progress in this field at AUSMIN 2011."

Perhaps this is tied together with the current Australian Space Policy that is under development, or a broader cooperation framework with the US on Space. I guess we'll have to wait and see on that one.

More information about AUSMIN and the recent announcements can be found here.

Optus looking for a Spacecraft Systems Engineer and Spacecraft Payload Engineer

 
Optus, Australia's leading satellite communications company is currently advertising for both a Spacecraft Systems Engineer and a Spacecraft Payload Engineer.

Both positions are full time, based out of Optus' Macquarie Park campus in Sydney, and appear to be aimed at a graduate or early career candidate. 

For those interested, head over to the Optus Website or my links above.

Hughes Network Systems Demonstrates Rural Satellite Broadband Capabilities

According to iTWire, Hughes Network Systems claims to have demonstrated a 16 Mbps link to a HN9400 Ka-/Ku-band broadband satellite terminal using satellite in Australia. In doing so, they have demonstrated that their satellite terminal is capable of supporting web browsing, streaming video, voice and videoconferencing applications simultaneously.

According to Hughes "The live demonstrations featured aggregate satellite Internet usage of 16Mbps and in addition, included simultaneous downloading from the Web of video clips, photos, software updates, and music; downloading streaming movies; VoIP; and point-to-point video conferencing - all delivered over the HN9400, a high-capacity, dual Ka-/Ku-band satellite platform."

Hughes is believed to be one of the companies that are competing to with the NBNCo contract to build and launch two Ka band geostationary satellites to provide broadband to the bush, and earlier this year opened an Australian Subsidiary.


It is believed that more will be known about the Satellite tender within the next few weeks.

Space Surveillance Site to be Built in Western Australia

During the upcoming visit of both US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US Defence Secretary Robert Gates scheduled for next week, a brand new multi-million dollar Space Surveillance facility will be built in Western Australia by the US according to the Fairfax newspapers.

The project, which was planned to be announced during US President Barack Obama's cancelled trip to Australia in June, will likely be built at the Harold E Holt Naval communications station in Exmouth, Western Australia. 

As highlighted in the most recent Defence White Paper, Australian military operations are now heavily reliant on space capabilities, and Space Situational Awareness and Mission Assurance was listed as one of the emerging capability priorities.

The facility is a natural extension of the US Space Surveillance capabilities, but will likely provide Australia with key information on  the protection of our vital space infrastructure, the space capabilities of other nations, as well as the ever increasing space debris problem. 

This continues the rise of importance in Australia of the Space industry, and it is likely that Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Defence Minister Stephen Smith will be on hand for the announcement.

SpaceBoomerang on Twitter

 
SpaceBoomerang has finally signed up to Twitter. For those who are interested in following all of my posts when they're uploaded, head on over to Twitter and search for me, or click on the link at the bottom of my blog.

NBNCo Satellite Details due out within a month

In what is seen as one of the biggest satellite contracts in Australia for several years, NBNCo has indicated that information about the upcoming NBNCo Satellites tender will be out within the next month.

Following the recent hung parliament, where broadband to the bush featured heavily in the independents decision to back the Gillard Labor Government, the satellite will form a key pillar of the NBNCo network - particularly to those who live beyond the economic reach of the planned fibre network.

Mike Quigley, CEO of the NBNCo, has recently told the Commsday conference in Melbourne, that the NBNCo corporate plan and business model will be provided to the government by the end of the week, who are likely to release selected information, including some costings and a roll-out timetable "in the near future".

As reported in my blog here, on July 14th this year, NBNCo announced  that they would be spending $1 Billion Australian to Build, Launch and Operate 2 Ka-Band Communications Satellites to service the needs of Australians who cannot cost effectively receive other communications services.

Australia signs up with Bigelow Aerospace

According to Leonard David's space.com article found here, Australia is one of six nations that has signed a memorandum of understanding with Bigelow Aerospace. Whilst there are currently no details of what the memorandum of understanding may involve, it is a very interesting move for Australia - prior to the release of the upcoming National Space Policy. At this point, I can only speculate that it might be a way to develop Australian Astronauts or Australian Space research, at a fraction of the price involved in signing up to the International Space Station.

Bigelow Aerospace, which was founded in 1998 by Robert Bigelow owner of the Budget Suites of America aims to put inflatable habitable modules in space, and rent that space to governments, scientists and tourists alike at a price far below those of the International Space Station.

The other nations that have signed up to memorandums of understanding with Bigelow Aerospace include Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

Australia testifies to the UN about the importance of Space

David Windsor - Australia's acting deputy permanent representative to the UN in addressing the "Crisis Management Landscape Evolving, Fourth Committee" said that "Space had increasingly become an integral part of everyday life. Benefits derived from space applications had transformed the way people looked at their environment and planet, ways of communicating and interacting, and how people move from one place to another, dramatically increasing safety, security, accuracy, predictability and convenience in daily life."

He went on to point out that Australia was reliant on others for satellites and launch facilities, but that Australia was in the process of developing a national space policy - which would lay out a vision of Australia's future space efforts. He also identified how important environmental monitoring has become for climate change, deforestation, landslides and droughts, and comment on the success of the Sentinel Asia early warning system within the region.

David also noted that Australia uses space-based technology to support many neighbouring countries in our region, including Geoscience Australia's use of high resolution multi-spectral data from the "Quickbird" Satellites - as part of a comprehensive tsunami risk assessment.

It is clear that Australia is stepping up its involvement in the space sector - and most importantly, there is an increasing knowledge and understanding within the Australian Government of the benefits that Space Technologies bring to Australia.

Aussies team up to test beer in Space

Well, it wasn't long until we saw Australia back in the Space game, but perhaps this wasn't the way most people were expecting. Perhaps for Australians, it was exactly what everyone was expecting!

4-Pines Brewing Company and Saber Astronautics Australia are teaming up to test the worlds first beer to be certified for drinking in space. The beer is "a recipe designed for easy drinking in both in microgravity and on Earth." It is intended to meet potential demand within the future space tourism market.

The team has selected Astronauts4Hire - a non-profit corporation who hires out members to undertake research in sub-orbital flights, to perform a series of research on the new beer, and in this case they will use parabolic flights from the ZERO-G Corporation beginning in November 2010.

Despite the fun looking mission, the researchers from Astronauts4Hire will be tasting the beer during weightless parabola flights, recording both qualitative data on beverage taste and drinkability and biometric data on body temperature, heart rate, and blood alcohol content.

Have one for me guys!

Decadal Plan for Australian Space Science Released

The much anticipated Decadal Plan for Australian Space Science has been released at the 10th Australian Space Science Conference. For those interested in reading the plan - head over to the Australian Academy of Science's webpage here - "Decadal Plan for Australian Space Science – Building a National Presence in Space".

The plan, which has been in development for around 5 years, has had input from almost all of the top Space Science minds in Australia and intents to establish Australia back as a player in both Space Science and the broader Space Domain.

The Plan's vision is to: 'Build Australia a long term, productive presence in Space via world-leading innovative space science and technology, strong education and outreach, and international collaborations'.

The 10-year plan, which was released by the National Committee for Space Science is calling for a modest $140 million (over 10 years) to undertake a series of projects that would deliver benefits to Australia, and to the global scientific community.

Overall, the plan foresees 3 main projects to assist in improving capabilities in Australia in the long term, including:

• SpaceShip Australis – a state-of-the-art ground-based network to measure, model, and predict space weather from the Sun to the ground, and support the proposed Square Kilometer Array.
• Marabibi Constellation – a flexible program of low-cost satellites that link with SpaceShip Australis and provide world-first, student-focused, research on space weather, technology, and the Earth.
• Sundiver – a spacecraft that will dive into the Sun to answer fundamental questions on the Sun’s supersonic wind and hot corona.

In addition to this, the plan proposes many of the broader administration structures necessary to assist and develop the plan, including the set-up of what is called  "Coordination of Australian Space Science Ltd (CASS Ltd)" and a "National Institute for Space Science". It will certainly be interesting how the current efforts by the Australian Space Policy Unit will take these recommendations in particular into account, and what role / impact they may have on the creation of a future Australian Space Agency.

Interestingly enough, the report points out that the cost of the plan is "Less than $1 per Australian, per year". In the scheme of things, a very small, and highly valuable investment for Australia to make.

There is no doubt that this document will be one of the biggest influences upon Australian Space Policy development and future government thinking on Space direction, as it represents many years of hard work from the Space Science community, and within this plan they have achieved strong consensus based on their wide and lengthy consultation with all parties.

All things going well, this could be the true catalyst for Australia to get back into the Space game. What this plan has achieved beyond just consensus, is a plan that is truly affordable to Australia, one that addresses Australian unique needs as well as one that leverages Australia's niche strengths.  It also provides a long term vision for the sector to rally around, and provides for several structural initiatives that will sustain the sector in the mid to long term.

For those on the National Committee for Space Science, I take my had off to you for your years of hard work.  The Committee for Space Science includes:

Professor Iver Cairns (Chair)
Professor Russell Boyce
Dr Graziella Caprarelli
Dr Alex Held
Professor Fred Menk
Dr David Neudegg
Professor Bob Vincent, FAA
Professor Malcolm Walter, FAA

Despite the fact that this document has been 5 years in the making, I see its final release as the start of big things in Australia for space. It comes at a time when momentum is behind Space in Australia, and the evidence is truly stacking up to support Australian involvement in Space.

Spatial@gov conference coming soon

Australia's premier Spatial Data conference Spatial@gov is coming up soon on the 5-7 October 2010. The conference will take place at the national convention centre in Canberra, and will spend the 3 days examining the various Australian uses of Geospatial technology and data - with many of Australia's government departments represented at the conference. 

According to the conference website:

"Geospatial technology is integral in every corner of the business world and across government, with up to 80 per cent of information managed connected to a specific location in some way. By contributing over $12 billion to the Australian GDP, the geospatial industry is a key player in the nation's new economy."


For those interested in more information - head over to the conference website here.

ABC Article on Space Debris

An interesting article from the ABC about Space Junk - Earth's forgotten environmental disaster.

I know that Space Situational Awareness and Space Debris is becoming a much more significant issue in Australia. Both Civilian and Defence Space leaders are becoming more concerned about the issue.

Lets hope we start to find some more sustainable solutions - otherwise, we'll lose the LEO environment for everyone to use.

Andy Thomas supports the Australian / New Zealand SKA bid

The WA today is reporting that Andy Thomas has thrown his support behind the Australia and New Zealand Bid for the Square Kilometer Array Project.

As reported in my post - Dr Andy Thomas is Down Under, as part of his tour around Australia, Dr Thomas said "It is going to be one of the premier engineering projects of Australia's history".

Given the infrastructure needed, with major upgrades of computing centers, network backbones and major inflow of world leading Astronomers, it is likely to be one of, if not the most important engineering facility in Australia. It will also provide major links to our New Zealand friends, and further our ever improving national ties.

Dr Thomas is quoted as saying: "That's going to bring in a fusion of technology, resources and skills into this country which are going to be unmatched and it's going to be a source of profound inspiration to young people to see the great things happening out there, the great discoveries being made, and be part of it."

Well, at Space Boomerang, I'm squarely behind the ANZ SKA bid too. Astronomy has a strong and successful history in Australia, and it is one area of the space domain that we can proudly claim to be punching above our weight.

The decision is shaping up as a truly important one, not just for Astronomy and Science in Australia, but for the country as a whole.

Space Minister Kim Carr Reappointed

The Hon. Kim Carr has been re-appointed Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.

The Minister for Space as I like to call him, is therefore likely to continue the gains maid in his highly successful first term in the space industry, and he will now be central to the campaign to bring the SKA facility to Australia which will be announced in 2012. 

Congratulations to the re-appointed Minister for Space, the Hon. Kim Carr.

Dreams of Space

A recent article in the Geelong Advertiser from Beth Jens about her dreams of being an Astronaut, and her progress so far.

Dreams of Space Article.

Best of luck Beth - I hope to read a lot more about your future adventures.

Happy Birthday Optus Satellites

 Photo from Spaceinfo.com.au

Optus Satellites recently celebrated its 25th Anniversary. On August the 27th 1985, what was then known as Aussat, launched its first satellite on the Space Shuttle.  Since then, Optus have managed to launch 8 more satellites for a total fleet of 9 satellites, and one of the true quiet achievers in the Australian Space Industry.

For those 25 years, the fleet of Optus Satellites have changed many things across Australia, and most Australians are not even aware of the vital role the play in or tele-communications, TV, radio, internet and for our defence forces. 

For those interested in knowing a little more about Optus' current fleet, head here. 

Happy Birthday Optus!

Dr Andy Thomas is Down Under

 

For those unaware, Australia's favourite Astronaut Dr Andy Thomas is Currently in Australia. He is giving a series of talks and interviews in and around Perth over the next week or two. From what I understand, he is giving a corporate breakfast talk, presentations at several schools, an interview on ABC Radio and finishing with a public lecture at Curtin University which will feature a live link up with the International Space Station.

For coverage of his events - have a look at the following articles - Next Stop, Mars (Brisbane Times), the podcast of his ABC Radio, and his upcoming interview on Perth ABC Radio.

For those in Perth, make sure you get along to the Curtin University Lecture - on the 14th of September at 6pm. Further information can be found here. 

News at Space.gov.au

The folks over at Space.gov.au have two news articles that are worth reading if you can.

One is that enrolments for the 2011 Southern Hemisphere Space Program are open. 

The Other, is a brief article about the 4th Space Industry Innovation Council Meeting, although there's not much new information coming out of it just yet.

Australian Satellite Broadband Article

An interesting article on Australian Satellite Broadband over at the Business Speculator.

Space and the Australian Election Part II

Well, in my most recent post about Space and the Australian election I said: "Space, whilst not being the number one topic, is increasingly gaining influence. " How quickly that would prove true, with the NBN playing a major role in the decision of who should form government - particularly the NBN as it relates to outback Australia - read Satellite Broadband.

Now NewSat has joined in the debate strongly by taking out a half page advertisement in the Australian Financial Review highlighting how they could provide Satellite broadband much better than the planned services for the NBN. Clearly, NewSat has an enormous vested interested in attacking the NBN plans, as it recently had its proposals rejected by NBN, and stands a much better chance of success with its own services if the NBN plan is cancelled.
However, in this article for ITWire, NewSat chief executive officer Adrian Ballantine has highlighted how suitable satellite broadband is for Australia's geography. He is quoted as also saying:

“Yet unbelievably we are the one country in the OECD without a space policy. This illustrates that the key decision makers who have shaped broadband policies have been lacking the right knowledge about what is possible, what is needed and what is the right solution.”

 
The article goes on to identify how the Government has recently been making improvements through the Space Policy Unity and the Australian Space Research Program. 

From an Australian Space Industry Perspective, I couldn't agree more with Mr Ballantine. Australia is one of the best suited countries geographically speaking to utilise Space based services for many things - including Communications. And to not have a serious knowledge within the Australian government, is a bad outcome for Australia in general.

Although to counter the NewSat arguments, Satellite based broadband makes sense where ground based technologies become cost-ineffective, which is true in many parts of Australia. The different between GEO based broadband and fibre, is the much greater latency issues associated, which causes problems for real-time applications such as voice calls and gaming. I'd also argue that a guaranteed 12MBps is much better than the "chance" of getting any other service, and much better than the dial-up connections that some still have to cope with. 

However, other Space Based solutions may also be available to solve that problem. For example, the people at O3B (or Other 3 Billion), are currently developing a LEO constellation to provide communications network, to provide communications to the "Other 3 Billion" - or those who currently don't have access to it worldwide. This type of system might work very well in the regional parts of Australia.

Whatever side you are on, this is a clear example where Space technology is increasingly part of Australia's national needs. The least we can do is have a debate that is truly informed by Australian Space experts - underpinned by a National Space Policy. Only then can we fairly decide how best to use Space for Australia.

Space and the Australian Election

The Australian Election is just around the corner and as Australians prepare to vote, Space, whilst not being the number one topic, is increasingly gaining influence. As it is not covered well in the main stream media, I thought I'd pen a few thoughts of my own on the issue.


Where were we at the last election?


The Australian Space Sector had been in the wilderness for around a decade. The Howard government had chosen to take a "hands-off" approach to the sector, and besides the Space Licensing office for regulation of space activities, there was very little government involvement. We also had the start of the "Australia: Lost in Space?" Senate report, but otherwise, there was not much to talk of as far as the Australian Government is concerned.


Where are we now?


Since the election, we've had the release of the Senate Report, the Defence White Paper with several relevant Space announcements, the start of the Australian Space Research Program, the setup of the Space Policy Unit, a new Space.gov.au website, the announcement of 2 Ka Band Communications satellites as part of the NBN, and the formation of the Space Industry Innovation Council. Not to mention, many, many new space projects in Australia through the ASRP, several new space courses including the new ISU course in Australia, and the recent landing of the Hayabusa probe at Woomera.


When you think about it, that is absolutely HUGE progress in 3 years since the last election. From where we stood then, it is hard to believe that so much has been achieved!


What does the future hold?


The next term of the federal government holds several key events for the Australian Space Industry.


1. Australian National Space Policy
        The Space Policy Unit is rapidly working on developing an Australian Space Policy. Under a labour  government, it is probably likely to continue it's current course, however under a liberal government, it might be reviewed or cancelled.


2. The announcement of the SKA
        The location of the SKA facility will be announced in 2012. I would suggest both sides of politics would be working hard to secure this for Australia, as it will bring massive economic, development and scientific benefits to the country. I'll rate the two parties even on this one.


3. The potentail for 2 new NBNCo Satellites
        NBNCo is a labour policy. If labour gets in, my bet is before the next election, there will be two half built Ka Band Satellites ready by the next election (if they're not already launched, or timed to launch near the next election!). If the libs get in, perhaps Optus will pick up the slack, or maybe NewSat, but it's unlikely that we'll see the same level of activity or investment as we will under NBNCo.


4. Steps Closer to an Australian Space Agency
        This one is perhaps the hardest to answer. I would guess that under a liberal government, there would be almost no chance of a Space Agency in the next term of government. If Labour gets in expect steps in the right direction, but perhaps an Australian Space Agency may need to wait until the next term.


So overall, I think it would be fair to say that Labour is a much better vote if you want to see progress in Space in Australia. They've achieved amazing things in the sector in just 3 small years, and for that they should be congratulated. I hope by the next election, we can see a lot more runs on the board for Space, and even some strong bi-partisan support for Space activities.

Australian Space Science Conference Coming Up

For those Australians interested in Space Science, the 10th Australian Space Science Conference (ASSC) is coming up in Brisbane from the 27th to the 30th of September.

Perhaps most importantly, the ASSC will this year be run in conjunction with the NCSS's workshop on implementing Australia's first Decadal Plan for Space Science, which is "ready to be published" according to the conference website. With a increasingly stronger and cohesive Australian Space Science community, and a receptive Australian government, this may set the future direction for Australia's space activities for the next few years. So if you're interested, make sure you get along.


Further information can be found on the conference website here.

National Space Camp Woomera Applications Open

Applications for the South Australian Space School's National Space Camp Woomera 2010 are now open. The Space camp is a residential conference for year 11 students from around Australia, with 40 students selected to participate.

The conference will be held from the 30th of Sept to the 4th of October 2010 in both Adelaide and Woomera.

For further information, head here.

ISU and Uni SA release information on Southern Hemisphere Summer Space Program

In a truly rapid turn around, the ISU, together with the University of South Australia has begun releasing information on their new "Southern Hemisphere Summer Space Program", that was recently successful in a ASRP grant.

The program somewhat mirrors the ISU summer program, and will be undertaken in Adelaide for the next 3 years, before alternating between Australian and other Southern Hemisphere Countries.

What a brilliant outcome for the ASRP already. I myself am definitely interested in this one, and I'd suggest that many Australians in the Space industry will become involved in this program.

For more information, or to register your interest further, head over to the ISU website article here.

DSTO Looking for new Head of Satellite Communications

DSTO is advertising for a new Head of Satellite Communications based in Adelaide. For those interested, head here.

Australian Space Research Program Round 2 Winners!

On the 14th of July, The Minister for Space (well, that's how I see him), Kim Carr, announced the Round 2 winners of the Australian Space Research Program.

Those winners are:

Stream A: Space Education and Development Grants

Project: Southern Hemisphere Summer Space Program
Consortium: University of South Australia, International Space University
Grant: $475,658
Project Description: The project will develop an intensive five week summer program
conducted by the University of South Australia and the International Space
University. The program will provide inter-disciplinary knowledge and skills to
professionals, graduate researchers and senior undergraduate students, leading to
a graduate qualification or credit towards undergraduate programs. The program
will be available to Australian and international students over three summers and
will teach the key concepts and latest developments in:
- space science and technology
- space applications
- space business
- international and national space policy
- legal and regulatory issues
- space life sciences.



Stream B: Space Science and Innovation Projects

Project: GRACE Follow-on Mission
Consortium: The Australian National University, CSIRO, EOS Space Systems Pty Ltd, Jet Propulsion Laboratory,Californian Institute of Technology, Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics(Albert Einstein Institute), National Measurement Institute
Grant: $4,673,001
Project description: The project will develop prototype hardware for a laser ranging system suitable to be flown on NASA’s GRACE Follow-on mission, scheduled for launch in 2016. The current GRACE mission (Gravity Recover and Climate Experiment) is an incredibly successful satellite mission that has provided new and unexpected insights into the natural process of the Earth, including for example, the ability to understand and predict the water balance across Australian catchments.
Along with the prototype hardware, the project will develop analysis capability in Australia to process raw observations from the mission. Importantly, it will develop new links between Australian institutions and international partners at the forefront of space-based instruments.

Project: Automated Laser Tracking of Space Debris
Consortium : EOS Space Systems Pty Ltd, Australian National University, Defence Science and Technology Organisation, Near Space Systems Inc.
Grant: $4,040,355
Project description: Current space surveillance and tracking systems have relatively high levels of uncertainty in orbit predictions which can result in collisions between satellites and space debris. This project will demonstrate automated precision tracking of space debris to provide improved space situational awareness. The consortium will demonstrate fully remote and automated operation of a high performance laser tracking station, and provide an authoritative assessment of its ability to contribute to improved orbit determination of present and future surveillance of space systems. This project aims to develop an internationally competitive, commercially-viable, space surveillance industry built upon indigenous Australian technology.

Project: SAR Formation Flying
Consortium: University of New South Wales, BAE Systems Australia, Curtin University of Technology,
Delft University of Technology, General Dynamics, Astrium Limited
Grant: $4,664,583
Project description: This project will investigate synthetic aperture radar (SAR)satellites flying in small formations to significantly enhance real-time environmental monitoring. SAR satellites are unaffected by smoke, cloud, dust or volcanic ash which hamper optical earth observation). By simulating various formations of SAR satellites, this project will identify optimum orbits for monitoring over Australia and the region. The project will also develop the precision Global Navigation Satellite Systems relative positioning required to operate satellites in formation. Through this, the project will enable SAR to be used for a range of new applications such as timecritical disaster monitoring, environmental monitoring, climate change science and national security.


My Comments:
Firstly, a big congratulations to all. I hear that the grants process is very competitive, and clearly the high calibre of projects selected reflects that.

The Southern Hemispher Summer Space Program is a great step forward for the Australian Space Scene. The ISU is seen as the leading Space educational institution worldwide, and to have an annual program in Australia for the next 3 years at least is a massive boost. This will lead to many Australians educated in Space, as well as many space experts coming to Australia each year. I hear that the Uni of SA also plans a graduate certificate in Space Studies on the back of this as well. And they are doing it on such a small grant? What a great investment by the government.

The GRACE follow on mission - clearly the plan here is to position the team to actually build the flight hardware for the GRACE follow on mission. Mark this one down as something with a big future, and potentially real flight hardware on a NASA spacecraft. Some great international linkages here too.

The Automated Laser Tracking of Space Debris project, essentially gives some seed money to the boys at EOS to do what the do best. This is a great example of a niche area of technology in space that Australia is good at. I'd suggest in 5 years, we'll be exporting this one around the world.

The SAR Formation Flying project - this one was a bit of a surprise to me, from the standpoint that this technology is right at the cutting edge of things. Now I think SAR satellites and technologies have strong future in Australia, particularly in the defence arena, but SAR formation flying seems like the step that comes after we can handle the basic SAR capabilities. Regardless, I'm sure the team will develop those capabilities within this project. Some good linkages here too - I see with Astrium involved, I'm sure the European companies will take more interest in what's happening in Australia.

Overall, another great step for Australian Space. Four high class projects selected, and for only a small amount of government money! I must say, I can't believe how quickly things are happening in Australia now, and I hope this pace can keep getting quicker and quicker!

Round 3 Australia Space Science Program Grants Open

Round 3 of the Australian Space Science Program is now open for applications. Applications are due by 3pm (AEST) Thursday 26 August 2010.

Two Application Information Sessions are planned as follows.

Melbourne - 10.00am, Friday 23 July
The University of Melbourne
Room 115 (Level 1)
Economics and Commerce Building
Perth - 10.00am, Monday 2 August
Curtin University of Technology
Resources and Chemistry Building (Building 500)
Townsing Drive, Bentley

Incidently, I have heard from several people that competition continues to be quite strong for the ASSP applications, so for all those applying for Round 3 - good luck!

For further information, head here.

Richard Marles MP checks on Hypersonics Progress

Parliamentary Secretary for Innovation and Industry Richard Marles MP visited The University of Queensland on July 14, to check on progress on the hypersonics program that was successful in receiving $5Million in funding through the 1st round of the Australian Space Research Program.

The program will include a scramjet flight experiment - called SCRAMSPACE I, travelling at Mach 8. The experiment is anticipated for late 2012. In addition, the University of Queensland will be testing different scramjet concepts at their hypersonic wind tunnel, right up to Mach 14.

The project consortium includes many of the worlds leading institutions in Hypersonics, including the Uni of Qld, Uni of Adelaide, Uni of NSW, Uni of Southern Qld, and the University of Minnesota.

Perhaps more importantly, the consortium also includes the Germany DLR, Japanese JAXA, Italian CIRA and Australia's DSTO, along with industry partners including Teakle Composites, AIMTEK and BAE Systems Australia.

Perhaps most importantly, the program will be training world class students in the hypersonics field, and cement Australia's position as one of the leading countries.

Good luck guys!

NBNCo looking for a Manager for the Satellite Service Centre in Sydney

For those of you who are interested, NBNCo is currently advertising for a Manager for the Satellite Service Centre in Sydney.

For more information, head here.

NBNCo to Spend $1B Australian on 2 Ka Band Comms Satellites

On July 14th, NBNCo announced that they would be spending $1 Billion Australian to Build, Launch and Operate 2 Ka-Band Communications Satellites to service the needs of Australians who cannot cost effectively receive other communications services.

NBNCo CEO Mike Quigley indicated that that NBNCo had decided on two Ka-Band Satellites due to the lack of viable alternatives in Australia, as well as the need for redundancy for such a critical network.

NBNCo went on to indicate that they intend to cover the whole of the Australian continent with satellite broadband, to serve both those in remote areas, as well as those who live near capital cities, but who are unable to have either a cost effective fibre connection, or where wireless is unreliable due to terrain. The aim is to provide a 12 megabits-per-second download speed, dramatically improving current services provided to rural Australia. NBNCo is also looking at two, very close orbital slots, to allow users to change between satellites without moving their ground antenna.

Australia has long been considered ideal for Ka-Band satellite, as rain is not as greater issue as other locations, and population density is relatively low.

Now we wait to see which companies have made the NBNCo shortlist for the Satellite component.

Indigo Telecom starts in Australia

A brand new satellite telecommunications company has launched in Australia to provide satellite mobile voice and data services to the entire Australian continent.

Indigo Telecom has opened a customer care facility, and plans to open a network operations centre in Brisbane within the next six months.

Indigo Telecom will use Thuraya's geostationary L-band communications satellites and anticipate an Australian market of around 1,000,000 potential subscribers.

The enter the market with two phones on offer, and one Satellite modem capable of 384kbps.

Three Australians Attending the ISU SSP

This years International Space University's Space Studies program, which has just kicked off, has three Australians in attendance.

One of those attendees, Kim Ellis, is writing a daily blog about her experiences in the program.

It's a good read, so if you can, head over to her blog - http://blog.internationalearthspacetechnology.com/

TWO SPACE RELATED PROJECTS AWARDED FUNDS IN COOPERATION WITH INDIA

Innovation Minister Senator Kim Carr today announced that nine projects have been awarded $2.7 million from Round 4 of the Indo-Australian Science and Technology Fund, which is a component of the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund (AISRF).

The two projects include:
"Enabling new science with the Murchison Widefield Array, an international low frequency pathfinder for the Square Kilometre Array", which is a cooperation between the Curtin University of Technology and the Raman Research Institute - which was awarded $380,000

"From the magellanic clouds to the Milky Way: A new understanding of galaxy structure and interactions based on kinematics of 5000 stars", which is a cooperation between the University of Tasmania and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics - which was awarded $260,000.

It is interesting to see Australia engaging in some cooperative projects with China and India that are related to the Square Kilometre Array - perhaps enhancing the political support of the ANZ SKA bid.

Another win for the Space and Astronomy community in Australia!

Australian Government Space Website Launched

The Australian Government has launched its Space website – which can be found here.

The new website, besides looking dramatically better that the somewhat bland previous site has also had some new material added on it, such as the Hayabusa landing, as well as some more information about the Space Policy Unit and upcoming National Space Policy.

They’ve released a new flyer for the Space Industry Innovation Council and they have also created dedicated pages for Earth Observation, Satellite Communications, Position, Navigation and Timing, Global Navigation Satellite Systems and the Global Positioning System (GPS).

It seems entirely appropriate with all of these major developments going on in the Australian Space Industry, that the government website was improved. I hope they can now use this new website to post more news and information about the Australian Space Sector as it becomes available – I know I for one will be watching it closely.

Now at least we know who to call and where to go to speak to the Australian Government about Space – bravo Space Policy Unit!

Anglo Australian Observatory becomes fully Australian

On July 1st 2010, the Anglo Australian Observatory will become a fully Australian run facility. In doing so, it is understood to be changing its name to the Australian Astronomical Observatory.

 The Anglo-Australian Observatory (Image: Anglo Australian Observatory)

With a combined British / Australian heritage for over 35 years, it has been one of the most productive telescopes worldwide for its class.

The Australian Government has provided an additional $30 Million over the next 5 years to the telescope facility, with Parliamentary Secretary for Innovation and Industry, Richard Marles, overseeing a historic ceremony to mark the change on the 25th of June, 2010.

NASA - VSSEC Talks

Two NASA space scientists (Dr Adrian Brown - an Australian, and Dr Jennifer Heldmann) are visiting Australia shortly and will be giving a series of public talks titled "Mars Science Laboratory Mission: The Search for Methane and Carbonate on Mars", as well as promoting the NASA - VSSEC Space prize. The talks will be given in Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide and Melbourne - and they're free! For further information, head here.

Dates and Venues
Brisbane: Wednesday 30th June (Dr. Brown only)
2.20-3.20pm
In association with AeroSpaceFutures www.aerospacefutures.com.au
Rydges South Bank

Sydney: Thursday 1st July (Dr. Brown only)
1:00-2:00pm
Everyone welcome. No booking necessary.
UNSW, Biological Sciences Building, 1st floor, Biomed B Theatre

Canberra: Monday 5th July (Dr. Heldmann only)
4:00-6:00pm
In association with Australian Earth Sciences Careers Night
Everyone welcome. No booking necessary.
Sir Harold Raggatt Theatre, Geoscience Australia, Cnr Jerrabomberra & Hindmarsh Drv.

Adelaide: Monday 5th July (Dr. Brown only)
8:00-9:00pm
Everyone welcome. No booking necessary.
RiAus, Science Exchange, Exchange Place, Adelaide

Melbourne: Friday 9th July (Dr. Brown & Dr. Heldmann)
6:30-7:30pm
In association with Australian Mars Exploration Conference www.marssociety.org.au
Victorian Space Science Education Centre

Everyone welcome email bookings@vssec.vic.edu.au to reserve a seat
*ALL EVENTS ARE FREE* 

Australian Space Development Conference Full Preliminary Program

The National Space Society of Australia has released the full preliminary program which can be found here.

My first thoughts on the preliminary program are – things are really taking off here! Firstly, if they get most of the invited speakers, the conference has really taken a step up in its importance for both the industry in general, and its significance to the Australian government. Secondly, they have been able to create 4 streams for most of the conference, all with interesting and relevant speakers – when compared to the last conference in 2008, this is a big step up.

A few speakers/Sessions that will be interesting...

Senator the Hon Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research
We’ll call him the minister for Space for now. Senator Kim Carr has achieved some big strides for the Space Sector so far since being in the portfolio, and we should thank him for that. What will be interesting, will be any comments he can make about the future – in particular, in Space Policy development.

Session 4A - Defence and National Security
The Australian Department of Defence is really recognising how truly important Space is to what they do. I would guess that we’ll see some big changes in the way Space Defence works in Australian in the coming years, regardless of what happens on the civil side. This session could be really interesting to hear what the various defence branches have to say.

Senator the Hon Penny Wong, Minister for Climate Change, Energy Efficiency and Water
One Government minister would be good, but two would be incredible to attract to the conference. If Senator Penny Wong can speak, it will demonstrate just how important this government takes space and space technology. Fingers crossed that she comes.

Dr Michael Green and Prof Ros Dubs: Capacity Building: The Role of Government
Both Dr Michael Green and Prof Ros Dubs are two of the main players in the Australian Government Space scene now. Everyone in the room should be interested in their talk.

I could go on, but let’s see how the program develops over the next few weeks. I also hope that the Liberal party can also send some representatives – just to get a real understanding of the importance of the Space sector to Australia.

Let me also send out a big congratulations to Kirby Ikin, Anthony Wicht and the entire conference team at NSSA. Every two years they put on an very good conference, and a lot of hard work goes into the organisation that most of us never see.

Hayabusa’s Spectacular Return

Hayabusa lights up the outback sky on return (JAXA)

Right on schedule, at 11:51pm on June 13, the Hayabusa spacecraft put on a spectacular skyshow on its return to the Woomera Prohibited Area in the South Australian outback.

The spacecraft separated from its capsule as planned, and as you can see in the video, the spacecraft broke apart and burnt up on re-entry, leaving the capsule to float gently down on its parachute for a soft landing. Furthermore, the capsule then broadcast its location back to the search team, allowing them to find it by helicopter reasonably quickly in the vast Woomera test range.

 Hayabusa and parachute when first spotted (JAXA)

The capsule has been deemed “intact”, and will now be taken back to Japan to the eager scientists who will now open it to determine if any Asteroid dust or gas was captured.

 Hayabusa up close when being recovered (JAXA)

The original video from the NASA tracking aircraft can be found here.

First thoughts from the Australian Space Innovation Council

The first thoughts from the Australian Space Innovation Council are starting to come through, following meetings in both February and April.

The Council are sticking to the three main themes of Earth Observation, Satellite Communications and Position, Navigation and Timing - no surprise there, and a good idea as all three topics are linked to National issues and should enjoy bi-partisan support within Parliament.

The council also intend to provide strategies to the government, to develop an internationally competitive Space Industry - something we can all look forward to, and hopefully something that gains support within the Government.

The Space Innovation Council has formed work groups to examine:

• how space technologies and services enable the broader delivery of government policy, such as our response to climate change, energy usage monitoring and natural disaster management;
• the importance of position, navigation and timing services (such as GPS) to Australia's society, civic infrastructure and economy;
• strategies and key messages for the sector to communicate the importance of space technologies and services; and 
• Australia's role as the “Big Ear for the Southern Hemisphere" in providing vital satellite ground stations, which listen out on behalf of international partners and ourselves from the large and quiet continental location which is Australia. 

So no major surprises so far, and heading in the right direction. This is the first time I've seen the term "Big Ear for the Southern Hemisphere" - perhaps something we'll see more of in the future. Hopefully they will have something to present at the upcoming Australian Space Development Conference soon.

Australia's SKA bid goes green

The Australian government has announced $47.3 Million in funding to provide clean, renewable energy to two of the precursor facilities currently being built in preparation for Australia and New Zealand to host the full Square Kilometer Array Facility.

The Pawsey High-Performance Computing Centre in Kensington will be powered by a geo-thermal demonstrator facility, with the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory using a new Solar Storage system.


The construction of the new energy projects will commence in November 2010, and be completed by Mid 2013.

The Australian government is once again showing its strong commitment to host the SKA project, with well over $200 Million in funding provided in new facilities so far to strengthen Australia's chances in hosting the full facility.

The countdown to Hayabusa continues

If all goes well, on sunday night at about 11:30pm local time, the Hayabusa spacecraft will be floating gently down to Woomera on its parachute that will deploy at about 10km altitude.

As I've blogged on before, the Hayabusa spacecraft will also hopefully contain some dust samples from the asteroid Itokawa, after overcoming a series of major problems to limp back to Earth, in what could be described as simply amazing engineering on behalf of the JAXA engineers.

Both Japan and NASA will be sending down sensitive tracking equipment to track the spacecraft on reentry, with scientists including Professor Trevor Ireland from the Australian National University eagerly awaiting to see the results.

For those wanting to follow the mission live, the Hayabusa site can be found here.

Uni of Queensland's Scramjet consortium comes together

The University of Queensland has been working hard with law firm McCullough Robertson to bring together the multinational agreement for their recently awarded Australian Space Research Program Grant.

The agreement involves organisations from Australia, the United States, Japan, Germany and Italy, bringing together more than $9 Million of funding from the consortium to match the $5 Million grant already won as part of the Australian Space Research Program.

The consortium will be working hard to develop scramjet technologies - seen by many as one of the most promising technologies for the future of both Space Launch and Air travel.

This project is already starting to place Australia at the front of the pack for scramjet technology, and is a great example of how Space funding in Australia is vital.

NBNCo has shortlisted its Satellite Operators

The Australian Newspaper within Mitchell Bingemann's article have indicated that the NBNCo has shortlisted Satellite Operators based on an earlier Request for Capability Statement.

It identifies that Optus, Intelsat and Hughes Network Systems are understood to be on the shortlist.  This would also indicate that NBNCo is interested in a 3rd party operating the Satellite network, rather than purchasing the satellites themselves.

More will be known when NBNCo releases the RFT in a few weeks time.

Hayabusa Return Interactive Event

To correspond with the Hayabusa spacecraft return to Earth at Woomera on the 13th of June, the Hayabusa project manager, Dr Junichiro Kawaguchi, and Australian Scientist Dr. Trevor Ireland, will be participating in an Interactive Event on the 6th of June. The even will be hosted by Questacon in Canberra, as well as The Victorian Space Science Education Centre (VSSEC) in Melbourne.

For full details about how to attend (tickets are free), head here.

Aussies and Kiwis link up to boost SKA chances

Six radio telescopes across both Australia and New Zealand have linked up to perform Radio Astronomy for the first time, creating a telescope baseline of 5500km. In doing so, they have created images that are 10 times more detailed than those of the Hubble Telescope.

The team from Australian and New Zealand imaged the Centaurus A galaxy, which is over 14 million light years away. The team included Auckland University of Technology’s Warkworth telescope, three CSIRO telescopes in New South Wales, the new Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) facility in WA, and the University of Tasmania’s dish near Hobart.

The new link up was enabled by the new 1Gbps Kiwi Advanced Research and Education Network (KAREN) connection allowing data transfer across the Tasman.

I must say, I find this “competitive science” attitude between Australia and South Africa wonderful, with both countries trying to out-science each other in the race for the SKA. In the end, it seems the science is the true winner, with the reverse situation than normal occurring. Politicians coming to scientists, and asking what they can do for them!

The CSIRO media release is here.


Well done Team ANZ SKA.

Tidbinbilla, Honeysuckle Creek and Orroral valley facilities honoured by AIAA

 The CDSCC with some locals (CSIRO)

The AIAA has honoured the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex (CDSCC) at Tidbinbilla, and former NASA tracking stations at Honeysuckle Creek and Orroral Valley as sites of Historic Aerospace Significance.

AIAA President Dave Thompson has unveiled a historic marker as part of the public ceremony on May 25th, 2010 at Tidbinbilla.

This now joins Woomera to be the second AIAA recognised site of Historic Aerospace Significance in Australia.

For the AIAA press release, go here.
For CSIRO coverage, go here.