ADF to purchase the remainder of the UHF SatComs Payload

 Image: Boeing - Intelsat 22

Following on from the ADF’s purchase of part of the UHF hosted payload on Intelsat’s satellite Intelsat 22 in April of 2009, the ADF has now exercised its option to purchase the remainder of the communications payload.

The new announcement involves an additional cost of $193 million dollars, taking the total project value under Joint Project 2008 Phase 5A to $475.1 million.

The Minister for Defence Senator Faulkner also announced that Australia and the US have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on sharing UHF communications resources, essentially providing the US with access to the Australian capability, and Australia with access to US UHF comms capacity over the Pacific Ocean.

Intelsat 22 is currently being built by Boeing, and is anticipated to be launched in the first quarter of 2012, and be positioned at 72 degrees East.

Another example of Australian government money being spent in the Space domain, but without long term support to an Australian Space industry, we loose all of our space money, jobs and expertise overseas.

JAXA's Hayabusa spacecraft to land at Woomera

The Japanese Space Agency (JAXA)'s Hayabusa spacecraft will be landing in the Woomera Prohibited Area in South Australia in June. In doing so, the Hayabusa spacecraft will be the first spacecraft to perform an Asteroid sample return mission.

Launched in May of 2003, the spacecraft met up with the Itokawa asteroid in 2005. Whilst its sample mission was not fully successful, it is highly likely that some asteroid material has entered into the sample chamber, and will be able to be analysed upon landing.

Australia will be playing a significant role in assisting JAXA in the spacecraft landing and recovery, particularly through the Woomera range support activities. I'd also be interested to find out which government departments are actually involved in the coordination - clearly Innovation and Defence, but who is doing what?

Both the Innovation Minister Kim Carr, and Defence Minister John Faulkner issued a joint ministerial media release on the Hayabusa landing which can be found here.

Another good step in the ever increasing pace of Australian Space activities.

Good luck to everyone involved in the landing!