The Biarri Cubesat Project - Australia’s next Satellite contribution?

The Biarri Cubesat project, is a four nation project involving Australia, the US, the UK and Canada. In Australia, the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) is working closely with BAE Systems, ACSER at the University of NSW, the Australian National University and Electro Optic Systems (EOS).

The project will see three, 3-Unit Cubesats launched by the United States in 2014, and involves precision flying experiments, which will also be tracked by EOS in Australia using their laser tracking system.

As part of the project, the US is providing the launch facilities and satellite bus, the UK is providing the communications links, Canada is providing the ground station infrastructure and Australia is providing the space-qualified L1-only GPS receiver, which BAE Systems has already qualified in its testing facilities. The FPGA based GPS receivers are designed to measure the precise relative positions of the Cubesats in their low earth orbit.

DSTO’s Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Division (ISRD) is leading the charge from the government front, with BAE Systems from Edinburgh Parks in South Australia leading on the industry side.

The Biarri project will use the Colony II Cubesat bus, which is a US NRO program, with Boeing currently building the satellite bus. No doubt through the Biarri project, DSTO will gain some very good insight into designing, developing, launching and operating a satellite, which bodes well for their future capabilities in small satellites.

DSTO is also apparently also working on another, higher Australian content Satellite called Bucaneer – together with BAE Systems. It will feature a Space Based Miniaturised High Frequency radar payload, and is likely to have a US supplied spacecraft bus.

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.