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Australian Space Agency

The Australian Space Agency is an agency of the Australian Government responsible for the development of Australia's commercial aerospace industry, coordinating domestic space activities, identifying opportunities and facilitating international engagement that includes Australian stakeholders.

Australian Space Agency
Agency overview
Formed1 July 2018 (2018-07-01)
Preceding agencies
JurisdictionAustralia
HeadquartersMcEwin Building, Lot Fourteen, Adelaide, South Australia
Annual budgetIncrease AU$17.1 million (FY2021/22)[1][2]
Minister responsible
Agency executive
Parent departmentDepartment of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources
Websitespace.gov.au
McEwin Building, headquarters

Its headquarters, opened in February 2020, are located in Lot Fourteen in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. The Australian Space Discovery Centre, which features exhibits and public information sessions, is also located on site.

History

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As of 2008, Australia was the only OECD country without a space agency other than Iceland,[3] with the preceding National Space Program and Australian Space Office (ASO) having been disbanded by the federal government in 1996.[4] A government report from the Australian Senate Standing Committee on Economics noted that Australia was "missing out on opportunities" and recommended that an agency immediately be developed.[5]

In 2009, the Space Policy Unit funded the Australian Space Research Program over three years.[3] It led to an accessible Landsat satellite imagery archive and the development and testing of a scramjet launcher.[6]

Need for agency

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On 16 September 2016, Andrea Boyd, an Australian working as a flight operations engineer for the International Space Station (ISS) in Cologne, Germany, delivered an address[7] at the Global Access Partners Summit[8] in Parliament House, Sydney, urging Australia to grasp the commercial opportunities of the new space market and protect its national sovereignty by establishing a national space agency. In response, a taskforce was gathered, which led to the establishment of the Expert Reference Group, co-funded by the federal Department of Industry, Innovation and Science.[9] Chaired by former head of CSIRO, Dr Megan Clark, it gathered recommendations from aerospace experts including Professor Russell Boyce, Professor Steven Freeland, the space administrator Dr David Williams and Dr Jason Held, founder of Saber Astronautics. It recommended the creation of a commercially focused Australian space agency and delivered its report to the Australian Government in August 2017.[9]

By 2017, Australian facilities were playing a critical role in 40 space missions of other nations, from deep space explorers, to Mars rovers, to astronomical space observatories.[10] The case for a sovereign-owned agency, if not with sovereign launch facilities in the short term, was being made by think tanks such as Australian Strategic Policy Institute.[11]

On 25 September 2017, at the International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide, Senator Simon Birmingham announced that the Australian Government intended to create a national space agency following an expert reference group investigation led by Megan Clark, former chief executive of CSIRO.[12]

As part of the Australian Government's 2018 budget announcement, AU$26 million in seed funding over four years from 2018 was included to establish the Australian Space Agency, with a further AU$15 million for international space investment starting from 2019.[13][14][15] The budget was criticised for being inadequate by private Australian space companies including Delta-V and Gilmour Space Technologies,[16] and space archaeologist Alice Gorman noted that low-budget attempts at starting an Australian space agency had failed in the past.[17]

Launch of the agency

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On 14 May 2018, Senator Michaelia Cash officially announced the launch of the Australian Space Agency, identifying 1 July 2018 as the commencement date of the agency, with Megan Clark as the inaugural head of the agency for at least the first year.[18][19] Prime Minister Scott Morrison later announced that Adelaide would become home to the Australian Space Agency. It would be located at Lot Fourteen, the site of the former Royal Adelaide Hospital, near the north-eastern corner of Adelaide city centre, in 2019.[20]

The agency opened its office on 19 February 2020. It aims to triple the size of the Australian space industry and create 20,000 new jobs by 2030.[21] On 13 October 2021, the Australian Government announced an agreement with NASA whereby Australian researchers and scientists would build a rover that will be sent to the moon by 2026.[22]

In March 2022, the ASA and the University of Adelaide stated that they would collaborate on Mars exploration.[23] The agency has, beginning 2023, a working relationship with Space Centre Australia, which aims to develop launch facilities in Cape York Peninsula.[24]

In November 2022 the agency partnered with Fugro to open the Fugro SpAARC spacecraft control centre.[25] SpAARC is located in Perth, Australia.

Description

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The Australian Space Agency is located in the McEwin Building on Lot Fourteen, a technology hub in Adelaide city centre.[26]

The Australian Space Discovery Centre is co-located with the agency.[27]

A new sculpture by Sundari Carmody, entitled One: all that we can see, was unveiled in June 2022. This is a 4 m (13 ft)-wide steel tubular ring, with LED lighting at the top. The work was commissioned by Lot Fourteen, and is located in front of the Australian Space Discovery Centre.[28]

Responsibilities

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The Agency has six primary responsibilities:[29]

  1. Providing national policy and strategic advice on the civil space sector.
  2. Coordinating Australia's domestic civil space sector activities.
  3. Supporting the growth of Australia's space industry and the use of space across the broader economy.
  4. Leading international civil space engagement.
  5. Administering space activities legislation and delivering on our international obligations.
  6. Inspiring the Australian community and the next generation of space entrepreneurs.

The Australian Space Agency differentiates itself from other national space programs in its stated focus on private development and businesses rather than state driven operations (contrasting with NASA and the European Space Agency).[30]

Governance

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The leader of the agency is titled the Head.[31]

Name
 Image Term
began
 Term
ended
Megan Clark AC   15 May 2018 31 December 2020
Enrico Palermo   28 January 2021 Incumbent

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Reichert, Corinne (8 May 2018). "Budget 2018 Government confirms AU41m Space Agency". ZDNet. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019.
  2. ^ Liz Wakerly. "Industry support". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  3. ^ a b Dempster, Andrew (4 April 2013). "Ten reasons why Australia urgently needs a space agency". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  4. ^ "Australian Space Office". globalsecurity.org. Global Security. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  5. ^ Lost in Space? Setting a new direction for Australia's space science and industry sector (Report). Commonwealth of Australia. 12 November 2008. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-642-71996-6.
  6. ^ Dempster, Andrew (15 May 2018). "As the details emerge on Australia's new space agency, we (might) finally have lift-off". The Conversation. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  7. ^ Boyd, Andrea (23 September 2016). "Innovation in outer space and opportunities for Australia".
  8. ^ "A Vision for Australia - Spaces of Australian Innovation: GAP 7th Annual Economic Summit" (PDF). 15–16 September 2016.
  9. ^ a b "Review of Australia's Space Industry Capability" (PDF). Department of Industry, Science and Resources. 29 March 2018.
  10. ^ Driver, Simon (12 February 2017). "Why it's time for Australia to launch its own space agency". The Conversation. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  11. ^ Huang, Haimin (22 June 2017). "Why Australia needs a space agency". The Strategist. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  12. ^ Young, Matt; AAP (25 September 2017). "Australia commits to space agency". news.com.au. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  13. ^ Wicht, Anthony (8 May 2018). "Budget 2018: space agency details still scant – but GPS and satellite imagery funded". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  14. ^ Greene, Andrew (2 May 2018). "Budget 2018: "Seed funding" for Australian space agency to be unveiled". ABC News (Australia). Archived from the original on 9 October 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  15. ^ "2018–19 Portfolio Budget Statements". Australian Government. Archived from the original on 15 May 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  16. ^ Sadler, Denham (8 May 2018). "Just AU$26 million for new space agency". Innovation Aus. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  17. ^ Dempster, Andrew; Gorman, Alice (29 March 2018). "What we're looking for in Australia's Space Agency: views from NSW and SA". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 12 April 2019.
  18. ^ Pearce, Rohan (14 May 2018). "Australian Space Agency to launch on 1 July, 2018". Computer World. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  19. ^ McIlroy, Tom (14 May 2018). "New government space agency to join Industry Department". The Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 19 June 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  20. ^ South Australia to become home to Australia's new space agency, ABC News, 12 December 2018, retrieved 12 December 2018
  21. ^ "Australian Space Agency opens in Adelaide". Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources of Australia. 19 February 2020. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  22. ^ Department of Industry, Science (13 October 2021). "Headed to the moon: the Trailblazer program and NASA space act agreement". Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  23. ^ "Extraterrestrial surface simulation lab launches new chapter in space research".
  24. ^ Gibbs, Nick (21 April 2023). "Spaceport slated for Cape York attracts global interest". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  25. ^ "Fugro opens state-of-the-art space control centre, SpAARC, in Perth, Australia". Fugro. 3 November 2022.
  26. ^ "Australian Space Agency opens in Adelaide". Australia. Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources. 19 February 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  27. ^ "Home". Australian Space Discovery Centre. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  28. ^ Von Einem, Johnny (21 June 2022). "Into the unknown with Sundari Carmody". CityMag. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  29. ^ "Australian Space Agency Charter" (PDF). Department of Industry, Innovation & Science. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 March 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  30. ^ Burgess, Katie (29 September 2018). "Not NASA: New Australian space agency more "nimble", "industry-focused"". The Canberra Times.
  31. ^ "Australian Space Agency executive". Canberra: Department of Industry. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
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