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!
Thursday, November 25, 2010
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.
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.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
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
For more information about the APRSAF-17 Forum, head over to their website here.
Friday, November 19, 2010
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.
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.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
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.
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.
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.
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