Page 37 - Australian Defence Magazine Nov 2020

NOVEMBER 2020 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
SPACE LAUNCH 37
ESTABLISHED in July 2018 as a non-statutory entity within the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, the ASA’s goal is to grow the commer- cial space sector in areas of competitive advantage, lead international collaboration, shape space policy, regulate
Australian space activities, and “inspire Australia in space”. By 2030 the ASA aims to have diversified the economy, tripled to $12 billion the sector’s contribution to GDP, and created an additional 20,000 jobs – a challenging task for a two-year-old ASA with a current workforce of about 30 and a budget of $226 million spread over its first four years. (This includes $15 million over three years was allocated for grants to projects that enable Australia to participate in
international space ASA activities).
The ASA’s activities are guided by seven national civil
space priorities, some of which are aligned closely with
Defence’s future investments in the sector. The first two – position, navigation and timing; and Earth observation – received funding of $224.9 million and $36.9 million re- spectively that was directed to Geoscience Australia in the 2018 Federal budget.
As explained by the ASA’s Deputy Head, Anthony Mur- fett, this distribution was on the basis that “they do the this they’re great at and we open doors and provide national coordination”.
The 2019 budget provided the ASA with an additional $19.5 million for a Space Infrastructure Fund to support job creation, and $6 million for construction (now un- derway at the ASA’s Adelaide headquarters) of a mission control centre that will allow SMEs and researchers to control missions utilising small satellites.
Additional space investment of $150 million to be spread over five years and managed by the ASA was an- nounced by the Federal government
in September 2019.
This followed an agreement be- tween the ASA and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administra- tion (NASA) to cooperate on future space activities, including the US ‘Moon to Mars’ exploration program.
This takes in Project Artemis, which aims to land astronauts on the Moon by 2024, and the Lunar Gateway, which will place a small spaceship in orbit around the Moon as a base for lunar expeditions and future human forays to Mars.
“IF THE ASA DOES ITS JOB RIGHT, WE WILL ALSO BRING CAPABILITIES ACROSS A RANGE OF AREAS THAT COULD ALSO SUPPORT THE DEFENCE SECTOR.”
NASA says Australian support could include expertise in robotics, automation, remote asset management based on current mining technology, space life sciences, human health, and remote medicine.
Murfett also notes that the Defence Strategic Update 2020 referred to a $7 billion investment in its space capability.
“If the ASA does its job right, we will also bring capa- bilities across a range of areas that could also support the Defence sector,” he said to ADM.
ASA PRIORITIES
Meanwhile the ASA’s current priority-led focus is on com- munication technologies and ground infrastructure, fol- lowed in 2021 through to 2028 by the four remaining pri- orities of research and development that will ‘leapfrog’ over existing technologies; space situational awareness; robotics and automation; and access to space.
The 7th and last priority, a generalisation for launch activities, has received considerable attention following the country’s first launch, in September, of a commercial space-capable rocket from the Koonibba test range in the far west of South Australia.
That involved Adelaide-based Southern Launch and two 3.4 metre-long Dart rockets made by Dutch company
LEFT: Australia is on track to have multiple launch sites in the coming years.