Page 22 - Australian Defence Magazine Feb-Mar 21

22 DEFENCE BUSINESS SPACE SUMMIT
FEBRUARY – MARCH 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
SPACE SUMMIT HITS NEW HIGHS
EWEN LEVICK | SYDNEY
In early December 2020, ADM held our second-ever Space Summit to connect leading industry figures with government policymakers and set the scene for the year ahead. The event was well-attended both in person and online, and also generated plenty of discussion on social media.
MORNING proceedings were chaired by David Ball from Lockheed Martin Austra- lia, and opened with a speech from Adam Seedsman, Executive Director of Strategy and Policy at the Australian Space Agency. He took the opportunity to emphasise the Agency’s role as a business facilitator rath- er than a traditional space agency.
“We’re different to other space agen- cies,” Seedsman said. “We’re an economic development agency. We have a mandate to establish growth through space in other core industries, such as agriculture.”
Seedsman also discussed the Agency’s goals of showcasing Australian exper- tise in propulsion, hypersonics and space medicine, and also emphasised their close work with Defence on satellite and situ- ational awareness capabilities.
“We have many areas we want to showcase to the world, including new propulsion, hy- personics, AI and space medicine,” Seeds- man said. “It’s very encouraging that Defence Space is identified as a critical capability. We’ll continue to work closely with Defence.”
Air Commodore Phil Gordon, RAAF’s Director General Air Defence and Space, said that Australia was moving from pas- sively consuming space capabilities to ac- tively contributing to them.
“For many years, we’ve been a consumer of space through our partners that’s un- derpinned our operations,” AIRCDRE Gordon said. “We’re now on the journey to becoming a space contributor.”
AIRCDRE Gordon also asked broad questions about Australia’s space strategy going forward: “I’m asking, where do we want a sovereign capability? And where do we want to rely on others? If we want that capability, can our industry support it?
“How do we see ourselves in space? Do we buy boutique systems from overseas and stick them in GEO? Do we put lots of cheap systems in LEO? How much do we do for ourselves? How much do we rely on others?”
Phil Shears, director of Defence Project 799 Phase 2 for the Australian Geospatial- Intelligence Organisation, said that indus- try will have the opportunity to contribute to that program, which aims to improve Australia’s space-based ISR capabilities.
“We remain committed to approach- ing the market and offering industry the opportunity to bid on these imagery con-
ABOVE: Over 120 delegates gathered for one of the few face to face events in 2020 in a COVID safe room for ADM’s Space Summit.
tracts,” Shears said. “In 2021, the project will be undertaking industry engagements to understand Australia’s strengths and capabilities.
“We’ll be testing assumptions on future GEOINT collection capabilities. But it’s too soon for a dollar figure.”
Luke Brown, Assistant Secretary – Space Services, Training Areas and Simulation for Defence, said that Australia’s interna- tional space presence has improved mas- sively during his tenure.
“In recent months, our high-level US and UK colleagues have used the strongest words I’ve ever heard about partnering with allies like us,” Brown said. “I used to feel unequal in those discussions. Now I feel like an equal.”
Brown described the ADF’s satellite management capabilities, located at the Defence Network Operating Centre, as the ‘jewel in the crown’ of this growing and in- ternationally recognised capability.
“The Defence Network Operating Cen- tre is the jewel in the crown of our sov- ereign capability,” Brown said. “Satellites are exciting, but our sat management sys- tem is the jewel.”
However, Brown was also blunt in his requirements for companies looking to partner with Defence on space services.
ADM KATHERINE ZIESING