tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/space-industry-17688/articlesSpace industry – The Conversation2023-05-16T02:38:39Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2053932023-05-16T02:38:39Z2023-05-16T02:38:39ZJust 1 in 5 employees in the space industry are women. This lack of diversity is holding us back<p>This week, the <a href="https://www.spaceconnectonline.com.au/australian-space-summit/">Australian Space Summit</a> is celebrating some of our nation’s strengths and achievements in the space sector. But it’s taking place under the shadow of significant cuts to space technology investment <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/11/australias-first-national-space-mission-up-in-the-air-after-federal-budget-cuts">announced in last week’s federal budget</a>. </p>
<p>Space technologies play a critical role in responding to many national priorities, such as climate and disaster resilience, connecting regional Australians, contributing to regional security and driving economic growth. Yet, the sector suffers from a branding issue – most people think of rockets and astronauts, rather than the satellites we depend on globally.</p>
<p>This leads to a misunderstanding in government of the importance of space technologies to the issues we are seeking to solve. It also makes it harder to recruit talented people to the field. </p>
<p>So, how do we find enough people with the skills necessary to grow this critical technology sector?</p>
<h2>Why diversity and inclusivity matter</h2>
<p>The answer is placing a new priority on talent recruitment and expanding diversity and inclusivity in the space sector. </p>
<p>The space sector needs workers from all different backgrounds and disciplines, but is struggling to attract a diverse talent pool. This is due to a misconception that space only offers STEM-related jobs, as well as the overwhelmingly white and male make-up of the <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-15-8924-9_12">space industry, government and academia</a>. </p>
<p>This not only impacts the workforce pipeline, but also potentially the sector’s funding, due to a limited view of what kinds of solutions the space sector can provide to society’s biggest challenges.</p>
<p>This is an urgent public relations issue for the space sector. It needs to rethink how it markets itself to the public to better recruit for a myriad of positions in fields like space law, policy, technology governance, social anthropology and archaeology, business, arts, communications and more. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-outer-space-matters-in-a-post-pandemic-world-141977">Why outer space matters in a post-pandemic world</a>
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<p>The sector also needs to make diversity a priority. Currently, just <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/10/1102082">one in five employees in the space industry are women</a>. First Nations Australians also continue to be sidelined, despite the fact the majority of our ground-based infrastructure for space systems is on Indigenous lands. </p>
<p>We need greater inclusivity of perspectives from people of diverse genders, sexual orientations and ethnic and linguistic backgrounds, as well as people with disability. Research shows diverse and inclusive groups lead to greater <a href="https://www.oecd.org/gov/pem/public-sector-leadership-implementation/pem-inclusion/">trust, democracy and innovation</a>, less “group think”, more positive work environments and greater employee retention.</p>
<p>Additionally, greater diversity can make it easier to tell the story of why space technologies matter to society. This would help in terms of government funding and the industry’s ability to punch above its weight globally.</p>
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<h2>A national conference on diversity in space</h2>
<p>Last month, we brought together over 200 experts from the space industry, government, academia and the community to discuss these issues at the first-ever <a href="https://giwl.anu.edu.au/events/conference-diversity-frontier-gender-equality-space">national conference on gender equality and diversity in space</a>. </p>
<p>The participants agreed that diversity is an overlooked opportunity for the space sector. Many of the challenges facing the sector could be addressed by recruiting from a more diverse talent pool and ensuring diverse perspectives are being <a href="https://www.e-ir.info/2022/07/28/opinion-getting-diversity-right-in-australias-nascent-space-industry-matters/">incorporated into technology design and solutions</a>.</p>
<p>These are some of our key recommendations:</p>
<p><strong>1) Enhance workplace conditions and enact informal networks</strong> </p>
<p>Policy changes can help with diversity recruitment, such as tackling poor organisational cultures, offering equitable leave policies and improving current promotion and hiring policies.</p>
<p>But informal networks are important, too. There are networks for women in space in various countries, such as <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/stem/womenstem.html">the US</a> and <a href="https://www.womeninspace.co.nz/">New Zealand</a>, which have proven to be vital in developing a more diverse workforce. A new Women in Space Network is <a href="https://forms.gle/1ttaBzCKN73dUKF18">soon to be launched in Australia</a>. </p>
<p><strong>2) Don’t just pay lip service to diversity</strong> </p>
<p>Diversity must be placed at the centre of programs and policies in both the space sector and in governments at the federal and state/territory level. The space sector must also do a better job of explaining the importance of its work to government agencies. </p>
<p><strong>3) Establish diversity procurement policies</strong> </p>
<p>This includes minimum targets to support women-owned and First Nations-owned enterprises in the space sector and giving preference to space businesses that demonstrate improvements to diversity in their workforce. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lost-in-space-australia-dwindled-from-space-leader-to-also-ran-in-50-years-83310">Lost in space: Australia dwindled from space leader to also-ran in 50 years</a>
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<h2>Australia risks falling behind</h2>
<p>In 2025, Australia will host the <a href="https://www.spaceindustry.com.au/iac2025/">International Astronautical Conference</a>, the largest annual conference for the space industry in the world. This is a great opportunity to showcase our leadership in promoting a values-based, diverse, equitable and sustainable space sector.</p>
<p>Yet, without tangible action now, Australia’s space sector risks falling further behind our international counterparts. </p>
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<p>The Australian Space Agency is currently working with a number of organisations, including the <a href="https://giwl.anu.edu.au/">Global Institute for Women’s Leadership</a>, the <a href="https://inspace.anu.edu.au/">ANU Institute for Space</a> and the <a href="https://inspace.anu.edu.au/activity/missions/australian-centre-space-governance">Australian Centre for Space Governance</a>, to develop our own policy for diversity in the space sector. </p>
<p>This is a step in the right direction, particularly in the wake of the latest budget. But the industry also needs to step up with data transparency on diversity, as well as tangible commitments and actions.</p>
<p>To this end, we are conducting research on improving diversity in the space sector. We are inviting anyone in government, industry and academic roles to <a href="https://anu.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_d6IR87EO9OFYSUK">take part in a survey</a> to describe their experiences of inclusion, diversity, equality and access in their jobs. This input will contribute to Australia’s statement on diversity and inclusivity in the space sector.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1656480907929456641"}"></div></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205393/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elise Stephenson receives funding from the Australian Space Agency and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. She is affiliated with the Australian Centre for Space Governance. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cassandra Steer receives funding from the Australian Space Agency, the Department of Defence, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Geoscience Australia. She is Chair of the Australian Centre for Space Governance and affiliated with the International Institute of Space Law. </span></em></p>Why is the space sector struggling to attract a more diverse talent pool? We have a few solutions that could help.Elise Stephenson, Deputy Director, Global Institute for Women's Leadership, Australian National UniversityCassandra Steer, Deputy Director, Institute for Space (InSpace), Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2022042023-04-05T19:18:01Z2023-04-05T19:18:01ZHow can we make the space sector more sustainable?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518447/original/file-20230330-17-2bzlma.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=20%2C0%2C1897%2C1474&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An artist's impression of the 30,000 or so space debris orbiting around the Earth.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/hopeful_in_nj/3273279798">Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When talking about space, one might think about the stars one sees at night or a good sci-fi film. But space is also crowded with satellites, spacecrafts and astronauts, whose missions can last anywhere from several days to months. Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.geospatialworld.net/prime/how-many-satellites-orbiting-earth/">8,216 unmanned satellites</a> revolve around Earth’s orbits to improve our daily lives. Communication satellites contribute to enhancing Internet access in regions deprived of infrastructure (so-called “white areas”); meteorology satellites have become essential for weather forecasts, while navigation satellites (including GPS) are crucial for current and future transportation needs such as automatic driving vehicles.</p>
<p>Technological advances in the sector have unlocked many new business opportunities. The industry can now launch constellations of thousand satellites to reach corners of the earth as it had never before (e.g., <a href="https://theconversation.com/space-junk-astronomers-worry-as-private-companies-push-ahead-with-satellite-launches-137572">Starlink</a>), while new markets such as space mining and space tourism are steadily growing. National champions (including the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/09/09">United States</a> and <a href="https://www.elysee.fr/elysee/module/19326/fr">France</a>) have also framed the space sector as a top economic priority. It is thought the technological benefits accrued by companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin or OneWeb, launched by billionaires such as Elon Musk, will also be able to trickle down to non-space sectors such as the energy or freight industries.</p>
<h2>Issues for sustainable space</h2>
<p>For all these benefits, civil society appears increasingly concerned about the sector’s ecological footprint.</p>
<p>The first main issue to tackle is <a href="https://theconversation.com/space-debris-what-can-we-do-with-unwanted-satellites-40736">space debris</a> which are defunct human-made objects in Earth orbit that no longer serve a useful function. These objects include non-operating satellites, abandoned parts of launch vehicles, which carry satellites or spacecraft into space, decommissioned satellites, and even debris resulting from the collision between space objects. In practice, this means more than <a href="https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Space_Debris/ESA_s_Space_Environment_Report_2022">30,000 harmful space debris</a> and 3,364 non-operating satellites could collide into an estimated 4,859 active operating satellites, with catastrophic implications for our daily lives in sectors spanning transport and security to finance.</p>
<p>Some space activities could also impact the Earth’s environment, including air, water and soil pollution, and outer-space contaminations. Take, for example, the rising popularity of space tourism. Given <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021EF002612">soot from spacecrafts currently warms up the Earth</a> at a rate that is 500 times greater than that released by planes, there is growing anxiety over the sector’s associated greenhouse gas emissions and toxic substances. As a result, the debate over space activities cannot be the prerogative of the space community alone.</p>
<p>In an attempt to resolve these issues, our <a href="https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/tmsd_00063_1">recent research</a> has identified three promising working avenues:</p>
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<li><p>Collaboration</p></li>
<li><p>Green space technology</p></li>
<li><p>Policies aiming at sustainable development</p></li>
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<h2>Tailor solutions for sustainable space</h2>
<p>The collaboration needs to be carried out <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/radm.1254">between five key parties</a>: governments, academia, the industry, civil society, and environmental players such as NGOs. Nevertheless, while the industry has already developed an awareness of the issues at stake, the input of academic institutions has yet to be clarified. In particular, academia could provide new ideas in the areas of debris identification and removal, space traffic management, space situational awareness, and in-orbit servicing.</p>
<p>The second solution consists in developing green space technology that would emit less greenhouse gas emissions and other hazardous chemical substances. According to <a href="https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Clean_Space/Green_technologies">the European Space Agency</a>, these green technologies could minimise the energy consumption throughout the entire life-cycle of a space mission, save up on resources, while also minimising toxic substances to protect human well-being and biodiversity.</p>
<p>Green space solutions to investigate include space traffic management, in-orbit servicing and active debris removal on the one hand. When it comes to the spacecrafts themselves, scientists should also start to imagine greener propulsion, cleaner fuels, and alternatives to toxic material. For example, following the path of SpaceX, all launch vehicle manufacturers are also considering reusable launchers that will reduce CO<sub>2</sub> gas emission in a life cycle.</p>
<p>The final solution consists in developing policies that can at once encourage space commercialisation and enhance sustainable policy regime. One instance of this are green innovation policies assisting low-carbon small and medium enterprises. It will be important to align these policies with the <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/">17 pillars of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the United Nations</a>. To achieve this agenda, some indicators are emerging such as space sustainability rating and ESG (environment, social and governance).</p>
<p>We think that we are still on time to solve the two main issues in sustainable space: space debris and the sector’s overall ecological impact on Earth. However, space organisations cannot remain idle awaiting that “space shame” – a space version of <em>flight shame</em> (from the original Swedish concept of <a href="https://theconversation.com/flight-shaming-how-to-spread-the-campaign-that-made-swedes-give-up-flying-for-good-133842"><em>flygskam</em></a>) in the aviation sector – propels them into action.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202204/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nonthapat Pulsiri has received funding from the SIRIUS Chair.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Victor Dos Santos Paulino has received funding from the SIRIUS Chair.</span></em></p>How might the space industry reduce its ecological footprint and better manage the debris it leaves in its wake?Nonthapat Pulsiri, Chercheur post-doctorant en stratégie, innovation et entrepreneuriat, Chaire Sirius, TBS EducationVictor Dos Santos Paulino, Professeur associé en management de l'innovation et stratégie, Chaire Sirius, TBS EducationLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1985282023-02-03T13:18:49Z2023-02-03T13:18:49ZCornwall space launch: why launching rockets from UK soil can benefit industry and security<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506425/original/file-20230125-16-m3tekr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C302%2C2107%2C1276&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Virgin Orbit is launching satellites using a rocket slung under the wing of an aircraft.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://virginorbit.com/media-center/">Virgin Orbit</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Having the capability to launch satellites from UK soil has been a long time coming. The <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/09/business/virgin-orbit-uk-satellite-launch-scn/index.html">recent attempted launch from Cornwall</a> did not succeed, despite high hopes.</p>
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<p><em>You can listen to more articles from The Conversation, narrated by Noa, <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/audio-narrated-99682">here</a>.</em></p>
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<p>Nevertheless, it marks an ambitious new chapter in the UK’s long record of space exploration. As a country, we are good at making satellites, but we have typically sent them overseas to be launched. </p>
<p>While this approach can work very well, there are limitations – and circumstances can quickly change. It was previously common for UK and European satellites to be launched on Russian rockets. The Ukraine war means <a href="https://www.arianespace.com/press-release/suspension-of-soyuz-launches-operated-by-arianespace-starsem/">this route is no longer available</a>.</p>
<p>Launches from UK soil will enhance a space sector that is already worth more than <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-size-and-health-of-the-uk-space-industry-2021/size-and-health-of-the-uk-space-industry-2021">£16 billion per year</a> to the economy. They might also help avoid the need to transport UK satellites long distances, along with the associated challenges of ensuring the security of technology contained within them.</p>
<p>During Virgin Orbit’s mission on Monday January 9, a rocket with satellites was carried up under the wing of an aircraft, which took off from the UK’s newly operational spaceport in Cornwall. </p>
<p>The plane flew towards the southwest coast of Ireland, where the rocket was launched from the wing and continued upwards towards space. While the rocket’s first stage (or section) operated as expected, the second stage burnt up as it re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere, causing the loss of all nine satellites. Two of these, commissioned by the UK Ministry of Defence, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/science-technology-drive-to-deliver-uk-space-launch">carried space weather and radiation monitors designed here at the University of Surrey’s Space Centre</a>. We were really looking forward to seeing the data from the instruments, but it was not to be.</p>
<p>The launch is still typically the riskiest part of any mission. For a mature rocket system, the launch failure rate is usually just a few percent. For a relatively new rocket system, the failure rate is typically much higher. Such a failure cannot be considered as being particularly unusual at this stage in the development of Virgin Orbit’s rocket. </p>
<h2>Extra pressure</h2>
<p>Flight data transmitted by the rocket will be studied and analysed very carefully, and the source of the problem will almost certainly be found and fixed. Teams involved will learn from the experience, re-group and try again. Such efforts make spaceflight safer and more reliable.</p>
<p>While the cause of the failure is still being investigated and a further launch attempt is expected, the unsuccessful outcome creates extra pressure on Virgin Orbit. However, what’s needed is not just a one-off success but long-term reliability.</p>
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<img alt="Ariel-1" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506588/original/file-20230126-18-tl5c9c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506588/original/file-20230126-18-tl5c9c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506588/original/file-20230126-18-tl5c9c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506588/original/file-20230126-18-tl5c9c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506588/original/file-20230126-18-tl5c9c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=544&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506588/original/file-20230126-18-tl5c9c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=544&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506588/original/file-20230126-18-tl5c9c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=544&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The UK’s first satellite, Ariel-1, was launched on a NASA rocket.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1962-015A">Nasa</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<h2>An early mistake</h2>
<p>The fact that the UK is working to launch space missions from its own soil marks a remarkable turnaround. <a href="https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1962-015A">The UK launched its first satellite, Ariel-1</a>, on a US rocket back in 1962. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, just two months after launch, the US military <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/going-nuclear-over-the-pacific-24428997/">carried out the huge “Starfish Prime” nuclear test</a> high up in the atmosphere. Radiation from the test killed off Ariel-1, along with other satellites. But this turned out to be a minor setback, since Ariel-1 kicked-off the successful UK satellite industry we know today. </p>
<p>Realising the benefits of sovereign launch capacity, the UK developed its own rocket, <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/science-and-technology/2021/06/black-arrow-was-the-radical-british-rocket-that-was-doomed-before-it-flew-but-it-flew-anyway">Black Arrow, which blasted-off flawlessly from Australia in 1971</a>. However, the government of the day cancelled further production of this type of rocket just after launch because it was deemed too expensive. </p>
<p>Launch leadership in western Europe was then handed to France, which subsequently <a href="https://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1999ESASP.436...69K">developed the successful Ariane rocket system</a>. Indeed, until very recently, UK space policy could be summarised as “satellites but no launchers”.</p>
<p>While using foreign and commercial rockets is often perfectly acceptable, it means joining a queue of commercial and national customers. These launches can be delayed or, in the worst cases, blocked. </p>
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<img alt="Launch of European Galileo satellites on Soyuz rocket" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506600/original/file-20230126-25004-mf60dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506600/original/file-20230126-25004-mf60dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506600/original/file-20230126-25004-mf60dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506600/original/file-20230126-25004-mf60dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506600/original/file-20230126-25004-mf60dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506600/original/file-20230126-25004-mf60dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506600/original/file-20230126-25004-mf60dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Before the Ukraine war, it had been usual for the UK, and other European countries, to launch satellites on Russian Soyuz rockets.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2015/12/galileo_soyuz_vs13_liftoff6/15743430-2-eng-GB/Galileo_Soyuz_VS13_liftoff.jpg">ESA</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In future, we could have a stockpile of key UK satellites built and ready to launch, in the knowledge that they can get to space as soon as needed. A new launch capability also boosts the UK space ecosystem and eliminates the need for the long-distance shipment of complex and sensitive equipment to other countries, which is costly and may present security challenges.</p>
<p>Rockets launched from under the wing of an aircraft, like Virgin Orbit’s, fall into a category known as a “horizontal” launch. These were pioneered by an American <a href="https://www.northropgrumman.com/space/pegasus-rocket/">air-launched rocket system called Pegasus</a>, which first flew in 1990. </p>
<p>This way of launching saves fuel, because the rocket is carried the first 10km upwards by the aircraft. By varying the location and direction of the aircraft at the time of launch, controllers can directly place satellites into a variety of different orbital paths around the Earth. This gives a degree of flexibility not possible with fixed launch sites on the ground. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Melness, in Sutherland, near the site of the planned spaceport" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506607/original/file-20230126-20503-hwamsm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506607/original/file-20230126-20503-hwamsm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506607/original/file-20230126-20503-hwamsm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506607/original/file-20230126-20503-hwamsm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506607/original/file-20230126-20503-hwamsm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506607/original/file-20230126-20503-hwamsm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506607/original/file-20230126-20503-hwamsm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A future UK spaceport is planned for Sutherland, in northern Scotland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/melness-scotland-uk-july-19-2018-1986918428">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One downside of horizontal launches is that the payload capacity – how much mass the rocket can carry into space – is limited. </p>
<p>In addition to the new UK launch base in Cornwall, other spaceports in <a href="https://www.gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2021-01/atisn14685doc1.pdf">Snowdonia</a>, <a href="http://www.prestwickaerospace.com/aerospace-capability/1266-2/">Prestwick</a> and <a href="https://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/former-top-secret-machrihanish-air-base-wins-ps488000-spaceport-funding-1406639">Campbeltown</a> will carry out horizontal launches once they are operational. These will compete with UK spaceports designed for vertical launches, where the rocket travels upwards off the ground. Sites with this capability are planned for <a href="https://www.hie.co.uk/our-region/regional-projects/space-hub-sutherland/">Sutherland</a>, the <a href="https://www.scotsman.com/news/national/rocket-blasts-off-from-western-isles-ahead-of-planned-spaceport-opening-3361605">Western Isles</a> and <a href="https://lockheedmartinuk.mediaroom.com/shetlandspacelaunch">Shetland</a>. </p>
<p>Once up and running, UK-based rockets will cater to a growing local market, since their payload capacities will be well-matched to the “smallsats” (satellites with masses up to a few hundred kg) with which the UK has a strong track record.</p>
<p>The first Spaceport Cornwall launch did not reach orbit. But the UK space industry has bounced back from setbacks before and can do so again. This gives us the confidence to look beyond this bump in the road and towards the next exciting chapter in the story.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198528/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Keith Ryden is the Director of Surrey Space Centre, which designed instruments carried on the LauncherOne rocket. He has been funded by the UK Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and the European Space Agency (Esa) to undertake work on space radiation and space weather instruments.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Prof Craig Underwood is Emeritus Professor of Spacecraft Engineering at the University of Surrey. The radiation monitor flown on LauncherOne was based on an instrument which he designed, and which was first flown on the UK’s TechDemoSat-1 (Technology Demonstration Satellite-1) mission in 2014. He has received past funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the UK Space Agency.</span></em></p>Efforts to launch rockets into space from the UK need to demonstrate reliability.Keith Ryden, Professor of Space Engineering, University of SurreyCraig Underwood, Emeritus Professor of Spacecraft Engineering, University of SurreyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1989822023-02-02T19:15:28Z2023-02-02T19:15:28ZA rapidly growing rocket industry could undo decades of work to save the ozone layer – unless we act now<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507534/original/file-20230201-3038-cillry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=55%2C119%2C5241%2C3427&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The ozone layer is on track to heal within four decades, according to a recent <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/01/1132277">UN report</a>, but this progress could be undone by an upsurge in rocket launches expected during the same period.</p>
<p>The ozone layer protects life on Earth from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. Destruction of the ozone layer became a major international issue in 1985 when the “ozone hole” was <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/315207a0">discovered</a> over Antarctica. </p>
<p>Thanks to a coordinated global effort, the <a href="https://www.unep.org/ozonaction/who-we-are/about-montreal-protocol">Montreal Protocol</a> came into effect in 1987, leading to a ban on a class of chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which were used in aerosols and refrigeration. A global crisis was <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220321-what-happened-to-the-worlds-ozone-hole">avoided</a> as a result. </p>
<p>But the global space industry is growing rapidly, with an increasing number of annual rocket launches. As we show in our new <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03036758.2022.2152467">review</a>, the gases and particulates rockets emit as they punch through the atmosphere could lead to delays in the ozone layer’s recovery.</p>
<h2>Rocket fuel emissions are not regulated</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Rocket on take-off" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507709/original/file-20230201-17339-y1ilnp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507709/original/file-20230201-17339-y1ilnp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507709/original/file-20230201-17339-y1ilnp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507709/original/file-20230201-17339-y1ilnp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507709/original/file-20230201-17339-y1ilnp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507709/original/file-20230201-17339-y1ilnp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507709/original/file-20230201-17339-y1ilnp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Atmospheric emissions from rocket fuels are not regulated.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Official SpaceX Images/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>The launch industry today relies on four major fuel types for rocket propulsion: liquid kerosene, cryogenic, hypergolic and solid. The combustion of these fuels means contemporary rockets create a suite of gaseous and particulate exhaust products, including carbon dioxide, water vapour, black carbon, alumina, reactive chloride and nitrogen oxides. <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021EF002612">These products</a> are known to <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021JD036373">destroy ozone</a>. </p>
<p>In the stratosphere, an upper level of the atmosphere where the protective ozone layer resides, emissions linger for much longer than lower down. Small amounts of an exhaust byproduct can have greater destructive effects in the upper atmosphere than when close to Earth’s surface.</p>
<p>A new fuel is methane, which is used in multiple rocket engines under development by major launch companies. The emissions products of methane are as yet poorly understood. </p>
<p>As we outline, rocket emissions in the upper atmosphere can affect the ozone layer but are not regulated. We argue this policy gap must be filled to ensure sustainable growth of the rocket launch industry and protection of the ozone layer. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cornwall-space-launch-why-the-environmental-cost-of-rocket-launches-is-large-even-when-they-fail-197567">Cornwall space launch: why the environmental cost of rocket launches is large even when they fail</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<h2>Charismatic technology</h2>
<p>Solid rocket fuel contains a chemical that releases chlorine in the upper atmosphere and destroys ozone. CFCs were banned because they contain chlorine. </p>
<p>Fortunately, the number of launches to date is so small that the impacts on the ozone layer are currently insignificant. However, over coming decades the launch industry is set to expand considerably. <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/31/the-space-industry-will-be-worth-nearly-3-trillion-in-30-years-bank-of-america-predicts.html">Financial estimates</a> indicate the global space industry could grow to US$3.7 trillion by 2040. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/space-tourism-rockets-emit-100-times-more-co-per-passenger-than-flights-imagine-a-whole-industry-164601">Space tourism: rockets emit 100 times more CO₂ per passenger than flights – imagine a whole industry</a>
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<hr>
<p>Rockets have exciting potential to enable industrial-level access to near-Earth space and exploration throughout the solar system. This makes them “<a href="https://morganya.org/research/Ames-charisma-aarhus.pdf">charismatic technology</a>” – and the promise of what the technology can enable drives deep emotional investment. </p>
<p>The allure of possibility can get in the way of even discussing how to make rockets achieve these aspirational goals without damage. We have to be able to have clear discussions.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Rocket taking off into space" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507703/original/file-20230201-10216-nqytbc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507703/original/file-20230201-10216-nqytbc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507703/original/file-20230201-10216-nqytbc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507703/original/file-20230201-10216-nqytbc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507703/original/file-20230201-10216-nqytbc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507703/original/file-20230201-10216-nqytbc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507703/original/file-20230201-10216-nqytbc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rockets hold an exciting promise of space exploration.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Official SpaceX Images/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Collecting and sharing data</h2>
<p>Many communities – rocket launch providers, environmental regulators, atmospheric research scientists and government agencies – need to move forward together on an international level. Discussions on how to build best-practice operations for sustainability needn’t be stifling for space industry growth as potential actions are well within reach.</p>
<p>The greatest contribution each community can make, first off, is the collection and sharing of data. For example, those who build and launch rockets could estimate emissions during their design work and then measure actual emissions for their launch vehicles. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-new-era-of-spaceflight-promising-advances-in-rocket-propulsion-160396">A new era of spaceflight? Promising advances in rocket propulsion</a>
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<p>Working with researchers to sample emission plumes in the atmosphere would help develop understanding of the real-world impacts of emissions on the ozone layer. The current lack of these measurements for modern launch vehicles limits the predictive power of atmospheric modelling. Making data easily accessible to researchers is necessary for meaningful progress.</p>
<p>To evaluate emissions at early stages of rocket development, we also need accurate models of the impact emissions have on the atmosphere. This is where coordination between the space industry and the ozone research community is essential – each community holds a complementary puzzle piece, both of which together inform regulatory discussion.</p>
<p>Creating sustainable global rocket launches is going to need coordination across aerospace companies, scientists and governments: it is achievable, but we need to start now. This is our chance to get ahead of the game.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198982/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura Revell receives funding from the Royal Society of New Zealand Marsden fund, Deep South National Science Challenge and Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment for research related to airborne microplastics, climate modelling and stratospheric ozone. She is funded by the Rutherford Discovery Fellowships from New Zealand Government funding, administered by the Royal Society Te Apārangi.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michele Bannister is funded by the Rutherford Discovery Fellowships from New Zealand Government funding, administered by the Royal Society Te Apārangi, for research related to Solar System exploration. She is a member of Aerospace Christchurch.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tyler F. M. Brown is a member of Aerospace Christchurch </span></em></p>Rocket emissions in the upper atmosphere can damage the ozone layer but are neither measured nor regulated. It’s a policy gap we have to close if the space industry is to grow sustainably.Laura Revell, Associate Professor in Environmental Physics, University of CanterburyMichele Bannister, Senior Lecturer in Astronomy, School of Physical and Chemical Sciences Te Kura Matū, University of CanterburyTyler Brown, Researcher, School of Physical and Chemical Sciences Te Kura Matū, University of CanterburyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1924462022-10-17T21:21:20Z2022-10-17T21:21:20ZThe UK is about to have its first space launch – but Cornwall is unlikely to become a new Cape Canaveral<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489903/original/file-20221016-20-w6kkqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=74%2C77%2C1779%2C1237&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Cosmic Girl and LauncherOne.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/n28307/50846763897/in/photolist-2kt9Xr4-KqkuWN">Glenn Beltz/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://virginorbit.com/">Virgin Orbit</a>, a US company which provides launch services for satellites, has announced that the first orbital space mission from the UK will blast off from Cornwall. The rocket, which will carry nine satellites, along with a launch aircraft have been <a href="https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/cornwall-space-launch-plane-cosmic-7692611">delivered</a> by an RAF C-17 – a military, heavy-lift strategic transport plane.</p>
<p>This is primed to be a new phase for the UK and its involvement in space missions. It has the potential to bring tourism, economic benefits and jobs to the country. But is it a practical launch site and could we expect the likes of SpaceX or Nasa to book it in the future? </p>
<p>First of all, it is important to note that Virgin Orbit should not be confused with Virgin Galactic. Virgin Orbit is for commercial customers wishing to launch small satellites (including the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-61978510">first Welsh satellite</a>) into orbit. Virgin Galactic, on the other hand, is an <a href="https://theconversation.com/virgin-galactic-and-blue-origin-can-they-be-more-than-space-joyrides-for-millionaires-164513">ego boosting mission</a> to send wealthy people high in the atmosphere for a few minutes of free-fall.</p>
<p>Secondly, if you are in Cornwall expecting a Cape-Canaveral type scene with plumes of smoke pouring towards you, then you may need to lower your expectations. This will be a “horizontal launch”, meaning the rocket will be strapped under the wing of a plane and taken up to 10km (35,000 feet) before the full engines fire.</p>
<p>The rocket will be attached to the wing of <a href="https://flywith.virginatlantic.com/us/en/stories/cosmic-girl-a-stepping-stone-to-space.html">Cosmic Girl</a>, a Boeing 747-400 which has been converted from a passenger aircraft. You may think that the speed of the aircraft helps give the rocket a boost. But the average cruising speed of a 747-400 is roughly 900km per hour, which is roughly 0.25km per second. That is fast, but won’t make much of an impact on the roughly 9km per second needed to launch from the surface into <a href="https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2020/03/Low_Earth_orbit">Low Earth Orbit</a>.</p>
<p>The major benefit of launching from a plane is in fact the increase in altitude rather than speed. As you climb, the air gets thinner – at 10km the air density is 0.4 kg/m<sup>3,</sup> roughly <a href="https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/standard-atmosphere-d_604.html">a third</a> of the density at sea level. This significantly reduces drag on the rocket during its ascent and hence improves fuel efficiency. It is also worth noting that the smaller range of pressure changes that the rocket engine has to deal with while it is burning fuel also improves efficiency.</p>
<p>Of course the idea of launching something from an aircraft is hardly a new idea. Planes launched from larger planes (known as parasite fighters) have been around for over 100 years. And in 1990, the company today known as Northrop Grumman launched the first ever rocket from an aircraft. There are even companies which now <a href="https://www.spaceryde.com/">launch from weather balloons</a>.</p>
<h2>Why the UK?</h2>
<p>The bigger question of course is why the launch is happening from Cornwall. As a provider of space research, the UK has been a big player, yet has never had its own space programme. The preference for a space launch location has been part of the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-space-agency">UK space agency</a> plan to hold a <a href="https://www.ukspace.org/space-organisations/space-growth-partnership/">10% share of the space market</a> by 2030.</p>
<p>There have long been rumours that the UK might get a remote Scottish spaceport. This would be advantageous as space launch locations are required to have a number of fundamental properties. It is ideal to launch eastwards as the rotation of the Earth is about 0.45 km per second near the equator, which helps with reaching orbit. And you need a vast expanse of ocean or empty land to ensure that if your rocket fails, you are not causing a loss of life.</p>
<p>Cornwall has neither of these properties. At 50 degrees latitude, far north of the equator, the Cosmic Girl launch will be south westerly. This means it will have to partially fight the rotation of the Earth to reach a standard orbit.</p>
<p>Any launches from this facility in the future have to be via plane, as an eastward launch directly from the ground risks crashing into the south coast of England, France, or even Belgium. For a <a href="https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2020/03/Polar_and_Sun-synchronous_orbit">polar orbit</a> (circling roughly from pole to pole rather than around the equator), however, the site might be more viable, although would still require launching from a higher elevation. </p>
<p>The current payload for this mission is a number of commercial and government satellites. Compared to scientific launches, there is limited information on the mission. From what is <a href="https://virginorbit.com/the-latest/virgin-orbit-announces-start-me-up-mission-as-flight-hardware-takes-off-for-spaceport-cornwall-launch-debut/">known about the satellites</a> they are likely to be in an inclined orbit (around the equator). </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489900/original/file-20221016-16-et2jb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489900/original/file-20221016-16-et2jb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=587&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489900/original/file-20221016-16-et2jb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=587&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489900/original/file-20221016-16-et2jb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=587&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489900/original/file-20221016-16-et2jb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=738&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489900/original/file-20221016-16-et2jb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=738&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489900/original/file-20221016-16-et2jb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=738&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Affected area.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://airspacechange.caa.co.uk/PublicProposalArea?pID=373">Google maps</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Perhaps just as important is the fortuitous timing. Virgin Orbit decided to go for the launch just as the pound dropped in power <a href="https://theconversation.com/sterling-hits-all-time-low-two-things-can-turn-this-around-but-neither-is-straightforward-191370">against the dollar</a>. While Virgin Orbit has been planning to use the Cornwall base for months, it definitely benefits them to go for it at this specific moment. </p>
<h2>Future plans</h2>
<p>This may also benefit the UK too, as there is the hope that more space missions will now have the UK involved. It is no secret that since the UK has left the EU, the involvement of UK scientists in <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2324165-uk-may-go-it-alone-in-orbit-after-brexit-shutout-from-eu-space-plans/">international space projects</a>, <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-galileo-satellite-space-industry-move-from-london-to-spain-madrid-uk-a8165841.html">facilities</a> and funding bids, such as through the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/may/21/cambridge-university-astrophysicist-loses-esa-project-role-over-brexit-row-nicholas-walton">EU programme “Horizon 2020”</a>, have dropped considerably.</p>
<p>So as well as Cornwall, the <a href="https://www.space.com/saxavord-scotland-spaceport-construction-begins">Saxavord spaceport</a> in the Shetland islands is scheduled for construction soon. Whether this actually gets built is another question. An alternative spaceport on the A'Mhoine peninsular in Scotland was scheduled for building in 2018 with the first launch last year, <a href="https://www.scotsman.com/news/environment/insight-the-battle-to-build-scotlands-spaceport-3279541">yet it has still has not been built</a>. The effect on the local wildlife in both cases might cause further delays or even abandonment.</p>
<p>While we have no idea how popular the Cornwall Spaceport will be in terms of external partners, it will be of huge value to schools and universities in the country. Seeing commercial business using UK facilities and being able to visit the locations will be a much needed boost for most STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects.</p>
<p>But given that Cornwall lacks many of the properties needed for efficient launches, we are probably only likely to see some small commercial launches from there. The hope of being able to see astronauts take off from the UK is, unfortunately, an exceptionally long way off.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192446/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ian Whittaker does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With the arrival of Cosmic Girl in Cornwall, the UK is preparing for its first rocket launch.Ian Whittaker, Senior Lecturer in Physics, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1797602022-03-23T19:06:19Z2022-03-23T19:06:19ZWhat will Australia’s new Defence Space Command do?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453725/original/file-20220323-19-1eb4id.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C0%2C2385%2C1591&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://images.defence.gov.au/20210521raaf8659002_0027.jpg">Department of Defence / LAC Sam Price</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia established a Defence Space Command <a href="https://www.airforce.gov.au/our-mission/defence-space-command">in January</a> this year, “to achieve our strategic space ambitions and lead the effort to assure Australia’s access to space”. The government also plans to spend <a href="https://www.defence.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-11/Factsheet_Space.pdf">around A$7 billion</a> on space defence over the next decade.</p>
<p>Many areas within defence are already engaged in space activities, but Defence Space Command will bring them together. It will aim to build space capability not only in defence but also the rest of government, industry, and the research and education sectors. </p>
<p>I’m director of <a href="https://www.unsw.adfa.edu.au/unsw-canberra-space">UNSW Canberra Space</a> – the space mission, research and education program at the Australian Defence Force Academy, which develops and flies satellite missions for Defence Space Command. I have seen first-hand how defence, universities and industry can work together to develop Australian space technology and skills.</p>
<h2>Preparing for (and preventing) conflict</h2>
<p>Why do we need to put so much effort into space and space defence? One reason is Australia (like the rest of the world) depends on space-based technologies to provide communications, navigation and timing, and Earth-observing services.</p>
<p>However, space is increasingly “<a href="https://www.un.org/press/en/2013/gadis3487.doc.htm">congested, contested and competitive</a>”, according to the United Nations committee responsible for disarmament and international security in space. </p>
<p>Space services such as <a href="https://www.planet.com">Planet’s remote sensing network</a> (every part of the planet imaged from space, every day) and <a href="https://www.starlink.com">Starlink’s broadband internet constellation</a> are growing rapidly. There are now <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/satellite-database">almost 5,000 operational satellites</a> orbiting Earth. </p>
<p>The risk of collisions is increasing, as is the potential for conflict. Many nations now regard space as a “<a href="https://www.spaceforce.mil/Portals/1/Space%20Capstone%20Publication_10%20Aug%202020.pdf">warfighting domain</a>”, and the challenges are not just technological but political and ethical.</p>
<p>Defence Space Command will prepare for such space conflict, and deter it as much as possible.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/an-australian-space-command-could-be-a-force-for-good-or-a-cause-for-war-158232">An Australian 'space command' could be a force for good — or a cause for war</a>
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<h2>A commercial environment</h2>
<p>Another reason for Australia to step more boldly into space is increasing commercialisation. Space is no longer solely the domain of government space agencies. A rapidly growing array of private companies are now leading the way.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/about-us/about-the-australian-space-agency">Australian Space Agency</a>, established in 2018, is tasked with growing the country’s space industry to take a share of the global space economy. Along the way, this industry will support Defence Space Command and defence more broadly. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/space-agency-for-australia-heres-why-its-important-96105">Space Agency for Australia: here's why it's important</a>
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<p>Australian players are new to the game, and the history of competitive markets shows disruptive innovation – the kind that creates new markets or sources of value – is the only way new entrants can compete and win against incumbents. <a href="https://issuu.com/bpts/docs/nobel_iii-digital-book/418">Australia must be prepared to take risks in space</a>, flying often, learning from failure, and commercialising innovative technologies from research-driven space missions. </p>
<p>Australia (defence included) must embrace disruptive innovation in the space domain, or we will become technically capable but not necessarily commercially or militarily competitive.</p>
<h2>Skills for space</h2>
<p>To rise to these challenges, Defence Space Command will need a highly skilled space workforce. </p>
<p>There are currently few personnel in defence who understand the complexities and harsh realities of operating in space through hands-on experience. Knowing which missions to do and how to do them right can’t be learnt from textbooks.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/06/the-3-skill-sets-workers-need-to-develop-between-now-and-2030/">Analysis from various quarters</a> also emphasises the workforce of the future will have a growing need for technological skills, particularly in the areas of automation and artificial intelligence; social and emotional skills, for leadership and teamwork in complex situations; and higher cognitive skills, including critical thinking and complex information processing.</p>
<p>All these are crucial for defence. The complexities of the space domain, the cross-disciplinary skills required, and the relevance of space to all aspects of society, mean training a future space workforce can inspire and educate, not just technologists and war fighters, but the critical thinkers and leaders of the future.</p>
<h2>How universities fit in</h2>
<p>This is where universities come in. Many of Australia’s universities are rapidly building space expertise, including Curtin University and the University of Melbourne. Take, for example, our work.</p>
<p>We help meet three critical needs: attracting and training a highly skilled workforce; pursuing and commercialising disruptive innovation; and performing early analysis and feasibility studies of potential space missions.</p>
<p>Defence and UNSW Canberra have jointly invested more than A$30 million since 2015 in this program. In that time, we have has developed four missions with five satellites. We have also performed extensive research and development for artificial intelligence-enabled space systems. We have also tracked and predicted the behaviour of satellites and their interactions with the space environment (known as “space domain awareness”).</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.unsw.adfa.edu.au/unsw-canberra-space/missions/m2">most recent mission, M2</a>, was launched in March 2021. It consists of two advanced satellites demonstrating technologies for Earth observation, satellite monitoring, communications and in-orbit artificial intelligence. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453728/original/file-20220323-27-eog8j5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453728/original/file-20220323-27-eog8j5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453728/original/file-20220323-27-eog8j5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453728/original/file-20220323-27-eog8j5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453728/original/file-20220323-27-eog8j5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453728/original/file-20220323-27-eog8j5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453728/original/file-20220323-27-eog8j5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The M2 mission demonstrated cutting-edge technologies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">UNSW Canberra</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>Our missions have grown defence’s capacity and capability for developing and operating space technologies to meet national needs. The technical and operational lessons we learn feed directly into our space education program and also our plans for the future. </p>
<p>Just as importantly, the team has spawned three Canberra-based spin-off companies (<a href="https://www.skykraft.com.au">Skykraft</a>, <a href="https://infinityavionics.com">Infinity Avionics</a> and <a href="https://www.nominalsys.com">Nominal Systems</a>) and established a domestic supply chain of approximately 30 organisations to support the missions. We have also contributed more than 20 highly skilled space professionals to other parts of the Australian space sector. </p>
<p>UNSW Canberra Space, along with our colleagues across the university sector, agencies such as Defence Science and Technology Group, the Australian Space Agency, CSIRO and Geoscience Australia, and in industry, has ambitious plans for new Australian space missions in the coming years. </p>
<p>The innovations that flow will be many, and the growth in skills across the country will be extensive. With coordination, these outcomes will make an important and enduring contribution to the success of Defence Space Command. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-wants-a-space-industry-so-why-wont-we-pay-for-the-basic-research-to-drive-it-178878">Australia wants a space industry. So why won't we pay for the basic research to drive it?</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179760/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Russell Boyce owns shares in Skykraft, and chairs the board of Infinity Avionics. </span></em></p>The future of Australia’s space efforts will hinge on coordination between defence, industry and universities.Russell Boyce, Chair for Intelligent Space Systems and Director, UNSW Canberra Space, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1681462021-09-17T13:07:50Z2021-09-17T13:07:50Z3D-printed rocket engines: the technology driving the private sector space race<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421651/original/file-20210916-25-15mh7v1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=238%2C0%2C2550%2C1994&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/spacex/40628437283/">Offical SpaceX Photos/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The volatile nature of space rocket engines means that many early prototypes end up embedded in dirt banks or decorating the tops of any trees that are unfortunate enough to neighbour testing sites. Unintended explosions are in fact so common that rocket scientists have come up with a euphemism for when it happens: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jan/16/elon-musk-falcon-9-rapid-unscheduled-disassembly">rapid unscheduled disassembly</a>, or RUD for short. </p>
<p>Every time a rocket engine blows up, the source of the failure needs to be found so that it can be fixed. A new and improved engine is then designed, manufactured, shipped to the test site and fired, and the cycle begins again – until the only disassembly taking place is of the slow, scheduled kind. Perfecting rocket engines in this way is one of the main sources of developmental delays in what is a <a href="https://www.morganstanley.com/Themes/global-space-economy">rapidly expanding</a> space industry. </p>
<p>Today, 3D printing technology, using heat-resistant metal alloys, is revolutionising trial-and-error rocket development. Whole structures that would have previously required hundreds of distinct components can now be printed in a matter of days. This means you can expect to see many more rockets blowing into tiny pieces in the coming years, but the parts they’re actually made of are set to become larger and fewer as the private sector space race intensifies.</p>
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<p>Rocket engines generate the energy equivalent of detonating a <a href="https://www.marssociety.ca/2021/03/04/rocket-engine-engineering/">tonne of TNT every second</a>, directing that energy into an exhaust that reaches temperatures well over 3,000°C. Those engines that manage this without rapidly dissembling in an unscheduled fashion take at least three years to engineer from scratch, most of which is taken up by the cyclical process of redesign, rebuild, refire and repeat. </p>
<p>That’s because rocket engines are incredibly complex. The Saturn V’s F-1 engines that blasted Neil Armstrong towards the Moon in 1969 each had <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2013/04/how-nasa-brought-the-monstrous-f-1-moon-rocket-back-to-life/3/">5,600 manufactured parts</a>. Many of them were sourced from different suppliers and had to be individually welded or bolted together by hand, which took time.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421652/original/file-20210916-15-1eaowhh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A diagram of the F-1 rocket" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421652/original/file-20210916-15-1eaowhh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421652/original/file-20210916-15-1eaowhh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421652/original/file-20210916-15-1eaowhh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421652/original/file-20210916-15-1eaowhh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421652/original/file-20210916-15-1eaowhh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=664&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421652/original/file-20210916-15-1eaowhh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=664&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421652/original/file-20210916-15-1eaowhh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=664&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The F-1 rocket engines that launched Apollo 11 towards the Moon were made of thousands of individual parts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SaturnF1EngineDiagram.png">Nasa/Wikimedia</a></span>
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<p>This lengthy, expensive process might have been fine in the 1960s, with the US government funnelling money into Nasa to fuel the space race, but for private companies it simply takes too long.</p>
<h2>Add rocket fuel</h2>
<p>The key to fast engine development is to reduce the number of parts, which reduces the time it takes to assemble the engine and the disruption caused by supply chain delays. The easiest way to do this is to change manufacturing processes. Space companies are now moving away from <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/subtractive-process">subtractive manufacturing processes</a> – which remove material to shape a part – to <a href="https://3dprint.com/278887/3d-printing-and-the-future-of-space/">additive manufacturing processes</a> that build up a part by adding material to it bit by bit.</p>
<p>That means 3D printing. Increasingly, engineers are favouring a process called <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780128140628/additive-manufacturing-for-the-aerospace-industry">selective laser sintering</a> to 3D-print rocket engine parts in an additive process. It works by first laying down a layer of metal powder, before melting shapes into the powder with lasers. The metal binds where it’s melted, and remains powder where it’s not. Once the shape has cooled, another layer of powder is added, and the part is built up <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiUUZxp7bLQ">layer by layer</a>. For rocket engines, an Inconel copper super alloy powder is used, because it can withstand very high temperatures.</p>
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<img alt="how metal 3D printing works" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421856/original/file-20210917-47670-1f5pjq.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421856/original/file-20210917-47670-1f5pjq.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421856/original/file-20210917-47670-1f5pjq.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421856/original/file-20210917-47670-1f5pjq.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421856/original/file-20210917-47670-1f5pjq.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421856/original/file-20210917-47670-1f5pjq.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421856/original/file-20210917-47670-1f5pjq.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">How engineers 3D-print parts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiUUZxp7bLQ&ab_channel=StratasysDirectManufacturing">Stratasys Direct Manufacturing</a></span>
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<p>Selective laser sintering allows for multiple components to be printed in-house, as one unified part, in a matter of days. When an RUD occurs and the fault is found, engineers can create a fix using 3D modelling software, integrating highly complex parts into new rocket engines for test firing a few days later.</p>
<p>Using 3D printing also helps manufacturers reduce the weight of the complete rocket, as fewer nuts, bolts and welds are required to produce their complex structure. 3D printing is especially useful in manufacturing an engine’s complex <a href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20160009709/downloads/20160009709.pdf">regeneratively cooled nozzle</a>, which routes cool fuel around the hot engine to simultaneously cool the engine walls and preheat the cold fuel before combustion.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1141270225112969216"}"></div></p>
<p>A redesign of the Apollo F-1 engines using 3D printing reduced the number of parts <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2013/04/how-nasa-brought-the-monstrous-f-1-moon-rocket-back-to-life/3/">from 5,600 to just 40</a>. No company has yet to reduce this number down to one, but it’s undeniable that 3D printing has brought about a new age of fast, responsive rocket engine development.</p>
<h2>Business viable</h2>
<p>That matters for private space enterprises. Building a rocket isn’t cheap. Investors may get flighty as the RUD scrap heap begins to mount. Companies vying to launch payloads into space take a public relations knock whenever they’re forced to push back their launch schedules on account of faulty rockets.</p>
<p>Virtually all new rocket companies and space startups are adopting 3D metal-printing technology. It accelerates their development phase, helping them survive the crucial years before they manage to get anything into space. Of note are <a href="https://www.rocketlabusa.com/">Rocket Lab</a>, which uses its 3D-printed engine to launch rockets from New Zealand, and <a href="https://www.relativityspace.com">Relativity Space</a> which is 3D printing its entire rocket. In the UK there’s, <a href="https://www.skyrora.com/">Skyrora</a> and <a href="https://orbex.space/">Orbex</a>. The latter aims to launch a rocket using a 3D-printed engine as early as 2022. </p>
<p>It remains to be seen whether an entire rocket, including its engine, can be 3D-printed in once piece. But that’s clearly the direction of travel for an industry in which light-weight, complex, in-house manufacturing will define which payloads enter orbit – and which end up rapidly dissembling at an inopportune moment.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/168146/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Oliver Hitchens receives funding from the University of Surrey.</span></em></p>The rocket engines that lauched Apollo 11 towards the moon had 5,600 parts each. 3D-printed equivalents have just 40.Oliver Hitchens, PhD Candidate, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of SurreyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1596062021-04-28T12:15:09Z2021-04-28T12:15:09ZSpace tourism – 20 years in the making – is finally ready for launch<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397411/original/file-20210427-21-1cpclid.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=414%2C176%2C6979%2C5759&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Space tourism has been slow to get off the ground. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/space-tourism-concept-a-young-male-asian-royalty-free-illustration/1300171457?adppopup=true">Nadia Bormotova/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For most people, getting to the stars is nothing more than a dream. On April 28, 2001, Dennis Tito achieved that lifelong goal – but he wasn’t a typical astronaut. Tito, a wealthy businessman, <a href="https://www.space.com/11492-space-tourism-pioneer-dennis-tito.html">paid US$20 million for a seat on a Russian Soyuz</a> spacecraft to be the first tourist to visit the International Space Station. Only <a href="https://spaceadventures.com/experiences/space-station/">seven people have followed suit</a> in the 20 years since, but that number is poised to double in the next 12 months alone.</p>
<p>NASA has long been <a href="http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewnews.html?id=304">hesitant to play host to space tourists</a>, so Russia – looking for sources of money post-Cold War in the 1990s and 2000s – has been the only option available for those looking for this kind of extreme adventure. However, it seems the rise of private space companies is going to make it easier for regular people to experience space.</p>
<p>From my perspective as <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=PxIOz7cAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">a space policy analyst</a>, I see the beginning of an era in which more people can experience space. With companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin hoping to build a future for humanity in space, space tourism is a way to demonstrate both the safety and reliability of space travel to the general public.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397415/original/file-20210427-21-1lvsrl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Three men floating in the International Space Station" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397415/original/file-20210427-21-1lvsrl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397415/original/file-20210427-21-1lvsrl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397415/original/file-20210427-21-1lvsrl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397415/original/file-20210427-21-1lvsrl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397415/original/file-20210427-21-1lvsrl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397415/original/file-20210427-21-1lvsrl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397415/original/file-20210427-21-1lvsrl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Dennis Tito, on the left beside two Russian astronauts, was the first private citizen to ever go to space – and he spent more than a week on the International Space Station.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ISS-02_Soyuz_TM-32_Taxi_crewmembers.jpg#/media/File:ISS-02_Soyuz_TM-32_Taxi_crewmembers.jpg">NASA/WikimediaCommons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The development of space tourism</h2>
<p>Flights to space like Dennis Tito’s are expensive for a reason. A rocket must burn a lot of costly fuel to travel high and fast enough to enter Earth’s orbit. </p>
<p>Another cheaper possibility is a suborbital launch, with the rocket going high enough to reach the edge of space and coming right back down. While passengers on a suborbital trip experience weightlessness and incredible views, these launches are more accessible.</p>
<p>The difficulty and expense of either option has meant that, traditionally, only nation-states have been able to explore space. This began to change in the 1990s as a series of entrepreneurs entered the space arena. Three companies led by billionaire CEOs have emerged as the major players: Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin and SpaceX. Though none have taken paying, private customers to space, all anticipate doing so in the very near future.</p>
<p>British billionaire Richard Branson has built his brand on not just business but also his love of adventure. In pursuing space tourism, Branson has brought both of those to bear. He established <a href="https://www.virgingalactic.com/">Virgin Galactic</a> after buying <a href="https://www.space.com/16769-spaceshipone-first-private-spacecraft.html">SpaceShipOne</a> - a company that won the <a href="https://www.xprize.org/prizes/ansari">Ansari X-Prize</a> by building the first reusable spaceship. Since then, Virgin Galactic has sought to design, build and fly a larger <a href="https://www.virgingalactic.com/learn/">SpaceShipTwo</a> that can carry up to six passengers in a suborbital flight. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397419/original/file-20210427-13-1cw14qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A silvery ship that looks like a fighter plane with elongated tail fins." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397419/original/file-20210427-13-1cw14qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397419/original/file-20210427-13-1cw14qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397419/original/file-20210427-13-1cw14qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397419/original/file-20210427-13-1cw14qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397419/original/file-20210427-13-1cw14qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397419/original/file-20210427-13-1cw14qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397419/original/file-20210427-13-1cw14qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The VSS Unity spacecraft is one of the ships that Virgin Galactic plans to use for space tours.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VirginGalactic/c699fbc80ae44738a66a899dffd37b6a/photo?Query=virgin%20AND%20galactic&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=375&currentItemNo=13">AP Photo/Matt Hartman</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The going has been harder than anticipated. While Branson <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7529978.stm">predicted opening the business</a> to tourists in 2009, Virgin Galactic has encountered some significant hurdles – including the death of a pilot in <a href="https://www.space.com/30073-virgin-galactic-spaceshiptwo-crash-pilot-error.html">a crash in 2014</a>. After the crash, engineers found significant problems with the design of the vehicle, which required modifications.</p>
<p>Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, respective leaders of SpaceX and Blue Origin, began their own ventures in the early 2000s.</p>
<p>Musk, <a href="https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-first-mars-trip-2024">fearing that a catastrophe</a> of some sort could leave Earth uninhabitable, was frustrated at the lack of progress in making humanity a multiplanetary species. He founded SpaceX in 2002 with the goal of first developing reusable launch technology to decrease the cost of getting to space. Since then, SpaceX has found success with its <a href="https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/falcon-9/">Falcon 9</a> rocket and <a href="https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/dragon/">Dragon</a> spacecraft. SpaceX’s ultimate goal is human settlement of Mars – sending paying customers to space is an intermediate step. Musk says he hopes to show that space travel can be done easily and that tourism might provide a revenue stream to support development of the larger, Mars-focused Starship system. </p>
<p>Bezos, <a href="https://medium.com/@lynwerkledges/the-oneill-cylinder-jeff-bezos-vision-for-an-incredible-civilisation-in-space-fef75b499710">inspired by the vision of physicist Gerard O’Neill</a>, wants to expand humanity and industry not to Mars, but to space itself. <a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/">Blue Origin</a>, established in 2004, has proceeded slowly and quietly in also developing reusable rockets. Its <a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/new-shepard/">New Shepard</a> rocket, first successfully flown in 2015, will eventually offer tourists a suborbital trip to the edge of space, similar to Virgin Galactic’s. For Bezos, <a href="https://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/titles/christian-davenport/the-space-barons/9781610398305/">these launches represent</a> an effort at making space travel routine, reliable and accessible to people as a first step to enabling further space exploration.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A large silvery rocket standing upright on a launchpad." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397422/original/file-20210427-21-1c0u725.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397422/original/file-20210427-21-1c0u725.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397422/original/file-20210427-21-1c0u725.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397422/original/file-20210427-21-1c0u725.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397422/original/file-20210427-21-1c0u725.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397422/original/file-20210427-21-1c0u725.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397422/original/file-20210427-21-1c0u725.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">SpaceX has already started selling tickets to the public and has future plans to use its Starship rocket, a prototype of which is seen here, to send people to Mars.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Starship_SN9_Evening_Rays.jpg#/media/File:Starship_SN9_Evening_Rays.jpg">Jared Krahn/WikimediaCommons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Outlook for the future</h2>
<p>Now, SpaceX is the only option for someone looking to go into space and orbit the Earth. It currently has two tourist launches planned. The first is <a href="https://spacenews.com/inspiration4-announces-crew-for-private-spacex-crew-dragon-mission/">scheduled for as early as September 2021</a>, funded by billionaire businessman Jared Isaacman. The other trip, planned for 2022, is <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/26/axiom-space-unveils-ax-1-crew-for-fully-private-spacex-mission-to-iss.html">being organized by Axiom Space</a>. These trips <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/05/science/axiom-space-station.html">will be costly</a>, at $55 million for the flight and a stay on the International Space Station. The high cost has led some to warn that <a href="https://spacenews.com/foust-forward-space-tourisms-image-problem/">space tourism</a> – and private access to space more broadly – might reinforce inequality between rich and poor.</p>
<p>Blue Origin’s and Virgin Galactic’s suborbital trips are far more reasonable in cost, with both <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/26/space-tourism-how-spacex-virgin-galactic-blue-origin-axiom-compete.html">priced between $200,000 and $250,000</a>. Blue Origin appears to be the nearest to allowing paying customers on board, <a href="https://spacenews.com/blue-origin-aces-dress-rehearsal-for-new-shepard-crewed-flights/">saying after a recent launch</a> that crewed missions would be happening “soon.” Virgin Galactic continues to test SpaceShipTwo, but no specific timetable has been announced for tourist flights.</p>
<p>Though these prices are high, it is worth considering that Dennis Tito’s $20 million ticket in 2001 could pay for 100 flights on Blue Origin soon. The experience of viewing the Earth from space, though, may prove to be priceless for a whole new generation of space explorers.</p>
<p>[<em>Over 104,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletter to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=100Ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p>
<p><em>An updated version of this article was published on May 7, 2021. <a href="https://theconversation.com/space-tourism-is-here-20-years-after-the-first-stellar-tourist-jeff-bezos-blue-origin-plans-to-send-civilians-to-space-160510">Read it here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159606/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wendy Whitman Cobb is affiliated with the US Air Force School of Advanced Air and Space Studies. Her views are her own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Defense or any of its affiliates.</span></em></p>The first space tourist left Earth 20 years ago aboard a Russian rocket. Now, private companies are on the cusp of offering trips off Earth for those who can pay.Wendy Whitman Cobb, Professor of Strategy and Security Studies, Air UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1522892020-12-18T15:29:25Z2020-12-18T15:29:25ZMajor changes coming over the horizon for the global space industry<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375755/original/file-20201217-13-1dxaldl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C17%2C1500%2C920&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A photo taken from the International Space Station in 2014 shows the Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft on the left and the unpiloted ISS Progress 57 cargo craft. Six years later, private players have joined the space race. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://picryl.com/media/iss042e101429-d4b134">Picryl</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The attention of the world has recently been captured by the return of Japan’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/hayabusa-2-returning-asteroid-sample-could-help-uncover-the-origins-of-life-and-the-solar-system-151415">Hayabusa-2 asteroid mission</a>, the activities of Elon Musk’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/spacex-reaches-for-milestone-in-spaceflight-a-private-company-launches-astronauts-into-orbit-138765">SpaceX</a> venture, and China’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/change-5-china-launches-sample-return-mission-to-the-moon-is-it-winning-the-new-space-race-150665">Chang'e 5 moon landing</a>, yet a quiet revolution is taking place in the global space industry. This revolution started in the 2010s and its full impact on global space industry should be measured over the next decade.</p>
<p>In the next 10 years, the entry into service of constellations of small satellites should reshape the face of the global space industry. While the miniaturization of satellites is not a disruptive innovation in itself, it signals a paradigm shift. It will continue to significantly reduce the cost of access to space and pave the way for the mass production of satellites, which in turn will reduce the cost of the space infrastructure itself.</p>
<p>The space industry used to be organized in highly hierarchical industrial chains around prime contractors, most often under public leadership, NASA being a leading example. It now operates like industrial ecosystems budding upstream or downstream around private space infrastructure. </p>
<p>This industrial change is taking place in an institutional context dominated by a lasting crisis in international governance of space activities. The creation of an international civil space organization (ICSO) is not currently conceivable, but with the arrival of President-elect Joe Biden, we should expect the return of the United States to a more consensual diplomacy. However, the United States is likely to continue leading the game with the <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-accords/img/Artemis-Accords-signed-13Oct2020.pdf">Artemis Agreements</a>. They propose an intelligent rereading – albeit <a href="https://theconversation.com/could-corporations-control-territory-in-space-under-new-us-rules-it-might-be-possible-138939">favorable to US interests</a> and current American industrial supremacy – of the principles contained in the <a href="https://2009-2017.state.gov/t/isn/5181.htm">Outer Space Treaty</a> signed at the end of the 1960s. </p>
<p>While only nine states have currently signed the agreement, this could increase if the EU collectively takes a position and suggests an alternative, which could lead to a reciprocity agreement. In this regard, the idea of a Space Market Act should be supported, along the lines of the two recently announced regulations: the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/digital-services-act-package">Digital Services Act</a> and the <a href="https://www.euronews.com/2020/12/02/eu-commission-president-von-der-leyen-outlines-vision-for-eu-digital-market">Digital Market Act</a>.</p>
<p>In the meantime, international attention should continue to focus on the issue of <a href="https://theconversation.com/space-junk-astronomers-worry-as-private-companies-push-ahead-with-satellite-launches-137572">space debris</a>, and it will certainly be necessary to move quickly far beyond current management efforts. A useful lead could result from a transposition of the experience of the salvage clauses in the field of maritime insurance to space insurance law.</p>
<h2>Rising data flows from space</h2>
<p>In the coming years, the space industrial ecosystem will be dominated by the question of spatially derived data. The launch of constellations of small satellites will increase the volume of data produced, whether it is concerning the Earth or space itself. These data will need to be processed, and from this processing will result numerous commercial services being offered.</p>
<p>This accumulation of spatially derived data could be disruptive. Some governments will seek to protect their satellites or space platforms by setting up keep-out zones (more diplomatically referred to as “safety zones”). Others, such as EU member states, will be more attentive to the data’s personal nature, or to the limits that the collection and processing of these data may bring to the sovereignty of states, including the risk of anti-competitive behavior.</p>
<p>These big data flows have the potential to attract a range of industrial players who will implement techniques from Silicon Valley such as MVP (<a href="https://www.agilealliance.org/glossary/mvp/">minimum viable product</a>. The technique makes it possible to market a product (good or service) that is not yet fully finished, while collecting information from its users that will make it possible to improve it.</p>
<p>The multiplication of these private operators should maintain an important flow of financial transactions: fund-raising in the different series, acquisitions, calls to the financial markets with or without special purpose acquisition company (<a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/spac.asp">SPAC</a>). The question of such companies’ growth strategy will certainly arise: internal growth by strengthening or diversifying their activities or external growth by acquisition. Acquisitions are likely to prevail and market concentration is likely to rise. This should raise the growing question of the compatibility of vertically integrated players with competition rules.</p>
<p>Defense should remain an important customer of the space-imagery industry and should contribute its growth through multiple initiatives (financing, public procurement, calls for tenders). While this mono-customer situation has advantages, it may reduce the prospects and durability of this industry. </p>
<p>The market for commercial space applications should attract a clientele that demands high-quality services, particularly their performance. The arrival of the first constellations of small satellites also offers immense potential for services provided in orbit (refueling, observation, maintenance). More traditional sectors of the space industry should emerge transformed, starting with the space-insurance industry, which will not be able to ignore the resilience rates of the announced constellations. These rates should increase the need of inspection missions carried out.</p>
<h2>Competition law and the space legal framework</h2>
<p>Terrestrial infrastructure development, <a href="https://www.futurithmic.com/2020/03/10/5g-from-space-role-of-satellites/">particularly those of 5G</a>, should not be seen as a competitor but rather as a complement to the services provided by small satellite constellations.</p>
<p>The space industry cannot remain a long-term stranger to the phenomenon observed in recent years of a shift in value-added, toward content providers and more generally, the ICT industry. Convergence between the two industries will be found or will have to be found. The great challenge that awaits all operators of terrestrial or <a href="http://satellitemarkets.com/satellite-iot-game-changer-industry">satellite infrastructures should be that of IoT</a>.</p>
<p>Following in the wake of the <a href="https://www.gps.gov/systems/gps/space/">GPS and small-satellite revolution</a>, the shift to electric vehicles should bring with it the “dashboard challenge” – being able to guide vehicles’ automatic driving and on-board services. Powerful industrial alliances, following the example of <a href="https://www.safe-ev.de/de/">Software Alliance for E-mobility</a> (SAFE), LEAF or Charge-Up Europe, will certainly be necessary between space and terrestrial, modern and more traditional industries, as they have begun to be under <a href="https://www.gsa.europa.eu/newsroom/news/escape-project-launches-positioning-module-autonomous-driving">GNSS Escape</a> (European Safety Critical Applications Positioning Engine) program.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/global-space-industry-report-2020-focus-on-29-key-roles-across-the-space-ecosystem-1029856945?op=1">space industry value chain</a> should therefore welcome new activities, demonstrating the growing dynamism of the global space industry.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/152289/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lucien Rapp assure la direction scientifique de la Chaire SIRIUS (<a href="http://www.chaire-sirius.eu">www.chaire-sirius.eu</a>), cofinancée par le CNES, Arbus Defense and Space et Thales Alenia Space.</span></em></p>Over the coming decade, the arrival of constellations of small satellites will reshape the space industry. It constitutes a paradigm shift, particularly in terms of data gathering and processing.Lucien Rapp, Professeur d'Université chez Université Toulouse 1 Capitole, Professeur International Business Law, HEC Paris Business SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1419772020-07-05T19:49:37Z2020-07-05T19:49:37ZWhy outer space matters in a post-pandemic world<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345467/original/file-20200703-33939-1hk8d0q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C0%2C1159%2C874&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Department of Defence</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With all of the immense challenges we face on Earth this year, space can feel like an afterthought. </p>
<p>Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the hope of a growing space industry was palpable. Ribbons were cut, <a href="https://ia.acs.org.au/article/2020/australian-space-agency-unveils-adelaide-headquarters.html">buildings were dedicated</a> and Australia’s space industry was going to triple in size in just ten years. But a few weeks into March, Europe and then Australia were slowly grinding to a halt as the reality of COVID-19 set in. </p>
<p>Satellite images from ESA’s Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission in space showed the extent to which the virus lockdown was affecting major cities. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345457/original/file-20200703-33931-ebc44m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345457/original/file-20200703-33931-ebc44m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345457/original/file-20200703-33931-ebc44m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=225&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345457/original/file-20200703-33931-ebc44m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=225&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345457/original/file-20200703-33931-ebc44m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=225&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345457/original/file-20200703-33931-ebc44m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=283&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345457/original/file-20200703-33931-ebc44m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=283&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345457/original/file-20200703-33931-ebc44m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=283&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Air pollution plummeted as countries went into lockdown.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-5P/Coronavirus_lockdown_leading_to_drop_in_pollution_across_Europe">ESA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Next came the dramatic global economic downturn that seemed certain to crush Australia’s space ambitions. Consultants began sending a flurry of email surveys to see how everyone in the industry was coping. How would this change the future of our nation’s newest dream? </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ten-essential-reads-to-catch-up-on-australian-space-agency-news-108671">Ten essential reads to catch up on Australian Space Agency news</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<h2>Suddenly, space is everywhere</h2>
<p>Work in the space industry has always continued even under the most difficult circumstances. Missions take years to plan and launch. The global space industry has, out of necessity, always embraced uncertainty. Innovation will not stop. International cooperation is still strong. Missions are continuing. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345463/original/file-20200703-33943-llfw0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345463/original/file-20200703-33943-llfw0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345463/original/file-20200703-33943-llfw0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1175&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345463/original/file-20200703-33943-llfw0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1175&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345463/original/file-20200703-33943-llfw0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1175&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345463/original/file-20200703-33943-llfw0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1477&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345463/original/file-20200703-33943-llfw0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1477&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345463/original/file-20200703-33943-llfw0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1477&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The first test flight of a Europa-1 first stage rocket, a repurposed British Blue Streak missile, from Woomera, Australia, 5 June 1964.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.esa.int/About_Us/ESA_history/Fifty_years_since_first_ELDO_launch">ESA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It was just announced that the European Union is signing a <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/eu-ramps-up-space-efforts-with-1bn-deal-20200629-p5576b.html">billion-euro agreement</a> with French global launch services company Arianespace, with the hope of injecting another 16 billion euros into the European space industry by 2027. This is big news for Australia’s space industry too. Our history with Arianespace goes back to its predecessor, which <a href="https://www.esa.int/About_Us/ESA_history/Fifty_years_since_first_ELDO_launch">launched the Europa rocket</a> for the first time ever in South Australia in 1964. </p>
<p>NASA and SpaceX are <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-31/space-x-launches-astronauts-to-iss-from-nasa-pad/12304294">making headlines</a> for the first trip to the International Space Station in a commercially built and operated American spacecraft with astronauts on board. China’s space program is rapidly developing and an <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/24/china/china-mars-mission-intl-scli-scn/index.html">upcoming mission</a> could make it the second country to land and operate a spacecraft on Mars.</p>
<h2>Australia’s space capabilities</h2>
<p>In this multinational mix, Australia has much to offer. We are currently leaders in advanced and <a href="https://www.cqc2t.org/">quantum communication</a> that would make deep space communication possible, as well as creating unhackable communications on Earth. </p>
<p>Our government has taken steps to realise these opportunities through its first round of funding to accelerate the industry and galvanise the future of our space agency. </p>
<p>Ten strategic space projects <a href="https://www.minister.industry.gov.au/ministers/karenandrews/media-releases/11m-space-grants-boost-businesses-and-local-jobs">just received government funding</a> to help Australia build relationships with other international space agencies. In defence funding announcements last week, space was <a href="https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/space-the-new-defence-spending-frontier">highlighted</a> as one of the five defence domains for a strong Australian Defence Force.</p>
<h2>A quick recovery</h2>
<p>We are now seeing some amazing post-COVID wins for Australia. Planet Innovation, a Melbourne-based company, was the <a href="https://medeng.jpl.nasa.gov/covid-19/ventilator/registration/">only Australian manufacturer</a> to be chosen by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to make an innovative COVID ventilator. More than 300 companies around the world applied for the opportunity. </p>
<p>SpaceX chief Elon Musk <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-18/elon-musk-names-incat-as-potential-launch-pad-builder/12368032">suggested</a> Hobart-based boat builder, Incat, could help build “floating, superheavy-class space ports for Mars, Moon and hypersonic travel around the Earth.” Fleet Space Technologies and Oz Minerals were <a href="https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/business/sa-business-journal/fleet-space-wins-share-of-29m-in-sa-mining-grants-to-boost-exploration/news-story/a43577a993f39154b53e9883ef2c2596">just awarded a grant</a> to use space technology in mineral exploration.</p>
<p>A few weeks ago, the Australian National University National Space Test Facility (NSTF) was the <a href="https://inspace.anu.edu.au/news/anu-reopens-space-testing">first non-COVID research facility</a> at the university to reopen. Its first project was testing a piece of space equipment created by Australian company Gilmour Space Technologies that will fly on an Australian space mission in 2022. </p>
<p>Next, the NSTF team performed testing for Fleet Space Technologies, who drove their components from Adelaide to Canberra as there were no connecting flights. The NSTF has been continuously testing other space components for Australian missions since it reopened. </p>
<p>These are all hard-won successes in the face of COVID, and they speak volumes about the promise of Australia’s space industry. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/spacexs-historic-launch-gives-australias-booming-space-industry-more-room-to-fly-139760">SpaceX's historic launch gives Australia's booming space industry more room to fly</a>
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<hr>
<h2>Space will help Australia recover</h2>
<p>Our space industry also enables others. Space technologies are transferrable to Earth-bound sectors such as health and mining, and the industry helps economic recovery because it operates at many scales from small research projects to large multi-disciplinary initiatives. </p>
<p>Our nation is set to give rise to bespoke satellites that are proprietary to Australia. We will have our own satellite constellations to address critical issues like <a href="https://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/new-satellites-show-worrying-view-of-droughts-and-ice-loss">drought</a>, <a href="https://www.spatialsource.com.au/remote-sensing/smartsat-crc-launches-aquawatch-other-projects">water quality management</a> and <a href="https://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/eyes-in-space-to-spot-bushfire-danger-zones">bushfires</a>.</p>
<p>Our innovation will protect our sovereignty, and global space industry titans like NASA can see our <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-mars-rover-detects-ancient-life-australia">promise</a> with missions like Artemis: Moon to Mars.</p>
<p>Australia’s space industry began in uncertainty, and – despite bushfires, pandemics and massive change – it will succeed under uncertainty.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141977/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Professor Anna Moore works for the Australian National University that hosts the National Space Test Facilities. ANU has received funding from UNSW-Canberra, the ACT state government, DSTG, and the New Zealand Space Agency to operate the NSTF.</span></em></p>Australia’s space industry is booming despite the impact of coronavirus.Anna Moore, Director of The Australian National University Institute for Space and the Advanced Instrumentation Technology Centre, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1397602020-06-01T19:28:53Z2020-06-01T19:28:53ZSpaceX’s historic launch gives Australia’s booming space industry more room to fly<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338758/original/file-20200601-83195-175cg7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=324%2C101%2C3924%2C2720&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasakennedy/49419331818/in/album-72157647244171004/">NASA Kennedy/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>At the weekend, Elon Musk’s commercial giant SpaceX <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-31/space-x-launches-astronauts-to-iss-from-nasa-pad/12304294">launched two NASA astronauts</a> in a spacecraft named Crew Dragon which, from the inside, looked like a souped-up Tesla. </p>
<p>The Falcon 9 rocket launched the spacecraft, returned to Earth and landed on a ship to later be re-used. And the Crew Dragon eventually docked autonomously with the International Space Station (ISS).</p>
<p>The flight marks the first time in history:</p>
<ul>
<li>a commercial company has launched astronauts</li>
<li>a crewed spacecraft has docked with the ISS while “self-driving” and </li>
<li>a reusable rocket has been used to launch people, which can help cut down on debris re-entering the atmosphere, such as the rocket pieces that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/22/absolutely-amazing-space-junk-delivers-light-show-across-the-sky-in-south-east-australia">recently burned up over Victoria and Tasmania</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p>SpaceX has well and truly revolutionised space travel. But what does this mean for the many Australian companies making up a new space sector Down Under?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338779/original/file-20200601-83282-dnvdyo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338779/original/file-20200601-83282-dnvdyo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338779/original/file-20200601-83282-dnvdyo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338779/original/file-20200601-83282-dnvdyo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338779/original/file-20200601-83282-dnvdyo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338779/original/file-20200601-83282-dnvdyo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338779/original/file-20200601-83282-dnvdyo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338779/original/file-20200601-83282-dnvdyo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Crew Dragon spacecraft can carry up to seven astronauts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/spacex/21314715631">Official SpaceX Photos/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A burgeoning local industry</h2>
<p>Globally, the space sector is worth at least <a href="https://apps.bea.gov/scb/2019/12-december/1219-commercial-space.htm">US$415 billion</a>, and is expected to grow to US$1 trillion over the next decade. By then, the Australian space sector is also expected to be <a href="https://business.nt.gov.au/developing-industries/space-industry/territory-space-industry-2020/market-analysis">worth A$12 billion</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/spacex-astronaut-launch-heres-the-rocket-science-139398">SpaceX astronaut launch: here's the rocket science</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>An estimated <a href="https://www.consultancy.com.au/news/1626/australias-space-industry-crosses-5-billion-revenue-mark">770 Australian entities</a> already develop space-related infrastructure. This includes satellites, and technologies for telecommunications or television, bushfire monitoring, weather and climate tracking, search and rescue, navigation, deep space research, and defence and security.</p>
<p>In 2018, the <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/strategies-for-the-future/australian-space-agency">Australian Space Agency (ASA)</a> was established with a mandate to the support Australian space industry, rather than develop a national civil space program. </p>
<p>The global commercial space sector is now watching Australia with excitement, and possibly some envy. Many countries over-regulate their space industries, or fail to give them legislative support. But Australia is a new entrant to the space sector that benefits from full government support through an industry-dedicated space agency.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338760/original/file-20200601-83195-py40mu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338760/original/file-20200601-83195-py40mu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338760/original/file-20200601-83195-py40mu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338760/original/file-20200601-83195-py40mu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338760/original/file-20200601-83195-py40mu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338760/original/file-20200601-83195-py40mu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338760/original/file-20200601-83195-py40mu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338760/original/file-20200601-83195-py40mu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft lifted off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasakennedy/49430129116/in/album-72157647244171004/">NASA Kennedy/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The commercialisation of spacefaring</h2>
<p>The 20th century <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/postwarera/1950s-america/a/the-start-of-the-space-race">space race</a> began with government programs spurred by a technological and ideological competition between the US and the Soviet Union. However, today’s space race is highly commercial. </p>
<p>Many national space programs and militaries outsource to commercial entities for space services. Just this month, the Australian Department of Defence <a href="https://www.minister.defence.gov.au/minister/lreynolds/media-releases/defence-signs-agreement-gold-coast-space-company">signed a contract with Queensland company Gilmour Space technologies</a> to develop rockets for small military cargo and satellites. </p>
<p>Rather than large, expensive technologies developed for single purposes by government agencies, we’re now in an era of <a href="https://www.geospatialworld.net/article/emerging-commercial-space-industry-new-technologies/">“NewSpace”</a>. This is a term associated with small and medium sized companies developing smaller, lighter, and therefore cheaper technologies that can be repurposed and turned into “off the shelf” components. </p>
<p>Australian companies excel at this, as demonstrated by Gilmour, <a href="https://renewalsa.sa.gov.au/neumann-space-lifts-off-at-lot-fourteen/">Neumann Space</a> – which has a unique thrust technology for small satellites – and <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/06/myriota-raises-19-3-million-to-expand-its-iot-satellite-constellation/">Myriota</a>, a world leader in groundbreaking Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. </p>
<p>Giants such as SpaceX and Blue Origin are developing NewSpace technologies alongside their larger launch projects, and smaller companies benefit from their success when it comes negotiating public-private partnerships.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/spacex-reaches-for-milestone-in-spaceflight-a-private-company-launches-astronauts-into-orbit-138765">SpaceX reaches for milestone in spaceflight – a private company launches astronauts into orbit</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Innovative mindsets pave the way</h2>
<p>Even the opening of our own spaceport in East Arnhem land, expected by early 2021, is thanks to industry innovation. </p>
<p>NewSpace company <a href="https://ela.space/what/">Equatorial Launch Australia</a> is the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/small-business/world-first-startup-wins-nasa-deal-to-launch-rockets-from-australia-20190531-p51t8g.html">first commercial company ever to receive a launch contract from NASA</a>. As a result, the company is developing the spaceport, where it will specialise in new launch technologies for small and light satellites. </p>
<p>With our own spaceport, Australia will join the ranks of just 13 other nations that have launch capacity from their territory. </p>
<p>And aside from NASA, many Australian companies and research institutes will be keen customers. <a href="https://www.inovor.com.au/">Inovor, which builds tiny nanosatellites</a> may be among the first. </p>
<p>Or perhaps Gilmour, as it tests a revolutionary hybrid propulsion rocket <a href="https://www.spaceconnectonline.com.au/r-d/4358-anu-re-opens-national-space-testing-facility-discovers-cosmic-hidden-treasurers?utm_source=SpaceConnect&utm_campaign=29_05_20&utm_medium=email&utm_content=3&utm_emailID=71b8ae82567b8c1542c01de0febc35d1246cdfc9f33cc7cc762cccff9659ae65">in partnership with the Australian National University</a>. This could be the first commercial rocket of its kind to launch in the world. </p>
<h2>Even in a pandemic, the space economy booms</h2>
<p>According to a <a href="https://home.kpmg/au/en/home/insights/2020/05/30-voices-on-2030-future-of-space.html">report released</a> in May by accounting organisation KPMG, by 2030 every business will be a “space business”. The report suggests humans will live, work and holiday in space, and will be mining the moon for water and minerals.</p>
<p>And while human space flight from Australian shores may not be on the horizon, SpaceX’s launch is a beacon of hope for local commercial entities – especially because they push new technologies faster than government programs tethered to budgets and low-risk approaches. </p>
<p>Moreover, the ASA is considering entering into an <a href="https://spacenews.com/nasa-announces-artemis-accords-for-international-cooperation-in-lunar-exploration/">Artemis Accord</a> with the US. The launch technology demonstrated by SpaceX this weekend will be part of the Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the moon by 2024.</p>
<p>So although the national and global economy reels from the impacts of COVID-19 shutdowns, the global space economy continues to boom. And with Australia’s space industry taking off, the sky is definitely not the limit.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338774/original/file-20200601-83282-fi8sgt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338774/original/file-20200601-83282-fi8sgt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338774/original/file-20200601-83282-fi8sgt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338774/original/file-20200601-83282-fi8sgt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338774/original/file-20200601-83282-fi8sgt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338774/original/file-20200601-83282-fi8sgt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338774/original/file-20200601-83282-fi8sgt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley piloted the Crew Dragon. It’s the first spacecraft to carry humans into space from US shores since 2011.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasakennedy/49727102273/">NASA Kennedy/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139760/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cassandra Steer receives funding from the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and the Canadian Department of National Defence. </span></em></p>About 770 Australian entities are already developing space-related infrastructure, most of which are privately owned.Cassandra Steer, Lecturer, ANU Center for International and Public Law; Mission Specialist, ANU Institute for Space, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1374052020-04-30T01:58:42Z2020-04-30T01:58:42ZAustralia has long valued an outer space shared by all. Mining profits could change this<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/331262/original/file-20200429-51470-5s52sz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">moon</span> </figcaption></figure><p>Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump issued an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-encouraging-international-support-recovery-use-space-resources/">executive order</a> reaffirming that companies joining US mining activities on the moon would have property rights over lunar resources. </p>
<p>The order also made clear the US wasn’t bound by international treaties on the moon. Instead, the US would set up a bilateral or multilateral legal framework with other like-minded states to govern lunar mining activities.</p>
<p>This bold move by the Trump administration poses some challenging questions for Australia, given our past commitment to international space treaties and our current support the <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/news-media/australian-space-agency-news/australia-to-support-nasas-plan-to-return-to-the-moon-and-on-to-mars">US Artemis lunar program</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/giant-leap-for-corporations-the-trump-administration-wants-to-mine-resources-in-space-but-is-it-legal-136395">Giant leap for corporations? The Trump administration wants to mine resources in space, but is it legal?</a>
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<hr>
<p>Australia is a longstanding member of all <a href="https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties.html">five</a> space treaties. Also, the terms <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/data-and-publications/australian-civil-space-strategy-2019-2028/actions-to-grow-australias-space-industry">“international” and “responsible”</a> are two of the principles guiding the Australian Space Agency in designing and implementing its policies and programs. </p>
<p>As such, Australia will need to decide how it plans to respond to Trump’s move and how this will shape its future space policies. Will it continue to hold an “international” view toward the exploitation of resources from outer space? </p>
<p>Or can Australian companies “responsibly” take part in mining of the moon without contravening the country’s treaty obligations?</p>
<h2>Space resources as a ‘common heritage of mankind’</h2>
<p>The Trump administration’s proposal is potentially at odds with a key principle in the <a href="https://www.unoosa.org/pdf/gares/ARES_34_68E.pdf">1979 Moon Treaty</a> known as the “common heritage of mankind” (CHM).</p>
<p>The CHM principle is an important part of other areas of international law, such as the <a href="https://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/oceans-and-law-sea/index.html">UN Law of the Sea Convention</a>, which sets restrictions on the mining of deep seabed areas that lie outside national marine boundaries. Specifically, it allows commercial mining, but only if the benefits are shared among different countries by the <a href="https://www.isa.org.jm/">International Seabed Authority</a>.</p>
<p>Under the Moon Treaty, the CHM principle similarly does not give exclusive property rights to any state or individual companies. Instead, it provides for the “equitable” international sharing of space resources. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-not-clear-where-trumps-space-force-fits-within-international-agreement-on-peaceful-use-of-space-98545">It's not clear where Trump's 'Space Force' fits within international agreement on peaceful use of space</a>
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<p>The treaty also requires its state parties to negotiate international rules governing the exploitation and use of these resources.</p>
<p>As party to the Moon Treaty, Australia is obliged to follow these provisions. However, the US has never joined the treaty. It has criticised the CHM principle several times, and essentially does not support the idea of “equitable” sharing of space resources. </p>
<p>This is why the Trump administration is pursuing a separate framework to govern the exploitation and use of resources on the moon.</p>
<h2>A difficult balancing act for Australia</h2>
<p>There are now some concerns Australia could shift from its commitment to the CHM principle and side with the US view that states and companies should be permitted to freely exploit space resources.</p>
<p>Perhaps due to Australia’s obligations under the Moon Treaty, Prime Minister Scott Morrison did not say anything about the possibility of Australian involvement in mining on the moon when <a href="https://spacenews.com/australia-to-cooperate-with-nasa-on-lunar-exploration/">promising to support</a> NASA’s Artemis program last September. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/all-of-humanity-should-share-in-the-space-mining-boom-57740">All of humanity should share in the space mining boom</a>
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<p>Instead, Morrison vaguely <a href="https://www.pm.gov.au/media/backing-australian-business-jobs-us-moon-mars-mission">pledged $150 million investment</a> into Australian businesses and new technologies to help the country become more competitive in the space industry and better support future US space missions to Mars and the moon.</p>
<p>However, NASA <a href="https://www.afr.com/world/north-america/wanted-australian-mining-know-how-for-moon-mars-missions-20190710-p525vo">may be looking for a different type of collaboration</a> with Australia, focused more on Australian mining capabilities. </p>
<p>NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine <a href="https://www.afr.com/world/north-america/wanted-australian-mining-know-how-for-moon-mars-missions-20190710-p525vo">told the Australian Financial Review</a> last year that Australian mining companies could have a very specific role to play in space. </p>
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<p>…the lunar missions will rely on turning hundreds of millions of tons of mined water ice recently discovered on the moon into liquid forms of hydrogen and oxygen to power spacecraft. That autonomous capability of extracting resources is something that Australia has in its toolkit.</p>
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<p>Although there have been no clear messages from the Australian mining industry about whether they have interest in mining on the moon, companies such as <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/yblDiOdnpyun0mPiWTBADQ2">Rio Tinto</a> have already been developing the relevant technologies.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-can-pick-up-its-game-and-land-a-moon-mission-121109">Australia can pick up its game and land a Moon mission</a>
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<p>When finalising a specific plan to implement its $150 million investment in space research, the Australian government needs to think carefully about how to comply with its treaty obligations, including CHM, while still supporting its approach to NASA’s lunar program. </p>
<p>Australia needs to decide what it values more – an outer space shared by all, or the profits from possible mining deals that come from a more exclusive approach to space.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/137405/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Australia is a member of the 1979 Moon Treaty, which sets rules for resource extraction from outer space. Now that the Trump administration is eyeing moon mining, will Australian companies join in?Jeffrey McGee, Associate Professor, University of TasmaniaBin Li, Lecturer, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1211092019-08-01T06:51:42Z2019-08-01T06:51:42ZAustralia can pick up its game and land a Moon mission<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286544/original/file-20190801-169692-joh3mw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C613%2C6092%2C2867&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The 'Stairway to the Moon' as seen from Western Australia.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/grumblie/29319001672/">Flickr/Gary Tindale</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Now all the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing have died down it’s worth considering where we are with future lunar missions half a century on.</p>
<p>Australia has long played a role in space exploration beyond helping to bring those historic images of the first moonwalk <a href="https://theconversation.com/not-one-but-two-aussie-dishes-were-used-to-get-the-tv-signals-back-from-the-apollo-11-moonwalk-108177">to our television screens back in 1969</a>.</p>
<p>Labor MP Peter Khalil has <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5aDbDO5Ox8">already called for Australia</a> to be involved in a mission to the Moon, and later to Mars. He is co-chair of the recently reformed Parliamentary Friends of Space, along with the National’s MP Kevin Hogan.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/not-one-but-two-aussie-dishes-were-used-to-get-the-tv-signals-back-from-the-apollo-11-moonwalk-108177">Not one but two Aussie dishes were used to get the TV signals back from the Apollo 11 moonwalk</a>
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<p>But there is plenty of interest from others in going to the Moon.</p>
<h2>The new Moon race</h2>
<p>Only last month, India <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-49032603">launched its Chandrayaan 2 mission</a> that’s already orbited the Moon and <a href="https://earthsky.org/space/chandrayaan-2-isro-india-moon-mission">due to land there on September 7</a>.</p>
<p>China recently landed <a href="https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/01/13/china-releases-more-images-from-far-side-of-the-moon/">Chang’e-4</a> on the far side of the Moon while Israel <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/apr/18/spacewatch-israel-private-moon-mission-crash-lands">almost</a> succeeded in landing its Beresheet probe.</p>
<p>NASA has committed to sending <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/sending-american-astronauts-to-moon-in-2024-nasa-accepts-challenge">people to the Moon</a> again by 2024, and to significant lunar infrastructure such as the lunar <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-awards-artemis-contract-for-lunar-gateway-power-propulsion">Gateway</a>, lunar <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-taps-11-american-companies-to-advance-human-lunar-landers">landers</a> and <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/content/commercial-lunar-payload-services">companies to deliver payloads</a> to the Moon.</p>
<p>There is no doubt the Moon has once more captured the world’s interest. One of the reasons for this is human exploration, and that a Moon presence is now recognised as being <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/topics/moon-to-mars">essential</a> to any future mission to Mars.</p>
<h2>Water on the Moon</h2>
<p>Another is the presence of <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-well-placed-to-join-the-moon-mining-race-or-is-it-111746">water on the Moon</a>, and the usefulness of water for all sorts of reasons in space.</p>
<p>By the time we hosted the second <a href="http://www.acser.unsw.edu.au/oemf2019">Off-Earth Mining Forum</a> in 2015, it was clear water was the space resource of most immediate interest. </p>
<p>But the companies that existed at that time were mainly looking to source that water from asteroids. It has only been in the past two years that companies like <a href="https://ispace-inc.com/">iSpace</a> have come to the fore, aiming at extracting water from the Moon.</p>
<p>Australia has reacted quite quickly to this evolving environment. Only last month, the first workshop met to establish a <a href="https://thewest.com.au/business/infrastructure/governments-put-8m-into-australian-space-agency-plans-for-wa-base-to-control-robots-in-space-ng-b881255647z">Remote Operations Institute</a> in Western Australia to look at operating automated machines at a distance - remote mines and space.</p>
<p>The CSIRO identified nine potential “nation-building” flagship space missions, of which four relate to the Moon. One (disclosure, championed by me) is an orbiter and lander aimed at extracting water, but the other three could all support such a mission. Of those nine, four (including mine) have been selected for further examination at a workshop in mid-August in Brisbane.</p>
<p>Since January, we have been working on the <a href="http://www.acser.unsw.edu.au/mining-water-on-the-moon-the-wilde-project">Wilde</a> project, where we have re-focussed our space resources research towards the permanently shadowed craters at the Moon’s poles, where <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/115/36/8907" title="Direct evidence of surface exposed water ice in the lunar polar regions">water is highly likely</a> to occur in acceptable concentrations.</p>
<p>We are also looking to reduce the risk of investing in a water extraction venture, including the design of orbiter and lander missions.</p>
<h2>Explosion of Aussie interest</h2>
<p>These Australian initiatives are all being driven in part by the explosion of the Australian space sector. One symptom of this is the establishment of the Australian Space Agency. The agency’s very existence and its promise have further emboldened space businesses and researchers.</p>
<p>But more than a year after its founding we still await any real missions, or commitment to upstream projects (upstream in space projects means those that are actually in space – those great Australian contributions to Apollo were all on the ground - downstream).</p>
<p>The other important driver for the new space projects mentioned above is that Australia has such a strong mining industry, and that so much mining innovation is created in Australia.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-big-is-the-moon-let-me-compare-118840">How big is the Moon? Let me compare ...</a>
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<p>As disciplines, space and mining have a lot in common: both involve complex engineering systems, work in hostile environments, and human control is increasingly handed over to autonomous robotics. Exploiting resources in space represents a genuine opportunity for Australia to establish a niche around which a sustainable space industry can be built.</p>
<p>So now is a perfect time for Australia to consider a new Moon mission. The industry is growing rapidly and a flagship mission would give it something around which to build. </p>
<p>Our special expertise in resource extraction offers a unique opportunity, which others have only just started to pursue. And a community of companies and researchers has been gathered for the task.</p>
<p>Hopefully it won’t be another 50 years before Australia has its own presence on the Moon.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121109/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Dempster works for the Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research at UNSW, which is developing moon missions. He has received funding from the Australian Research Council and the Australian Space Research Program. He sits on the Advisory Board of the Space Industry Association of Australia. </span></em></p>Australia should be involved in any new mission to the Moon: we have the interest and the expertise so let’s be part of the race.Andrew Dempster, Director, Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research; Professor, School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1197422019-07-03T02:31:18Z2019-07-03T02:31:18ZTo be a rising star in the space economy, Australia should also look to the East<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282159/original/file-20190702-105182-1ocuvj2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Diversifying its space partners could help Australia avoid getting pushed around by the space rivalry of China and the United States.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alex Cherney/CSIRO/EPA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The UK’s space agency is already planning for spaceflights to Australia, taking just <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/uk-space-flights-could-launch-from-cornwall/510c9e2b-e253-42ef-8c40-a51cc66aba47">90 minutes</a>. This week it announced the site of its first “spaceport”.</p>
<p>Where exactly a spacecraft might land in Australia is still anyone’s guess.</p>
<p>Australia wants to become a bona fide space power in the emerging space economy – exemplified by the rise of <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-45919650">private space companies</a> such as SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin and others.</p>
<p>But the UK Space Agency’s well-developed plans to build Europe’s first spaceport in Cornwall, southwest England, as well as another to launch rockets carrying micro-satellites in Sutherland, north Scotland, shows the Australian venture has a lot more groundwork to do.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ten-essential-reads-to-catch-up-on-australian-space-agency-news-108671">Ten essential reads to catch up on Australian Space Agency news</a>
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<p>The Australian government founded the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-12/what-will-the-new-space-agency-mean-for-adelaide-and-australia/10609274">Australian Space Agency</a> just one year ago. It is about to invest tens of millions of dollars in international space projects. </p>
<p>But right now, it could be argued, it has a large problem: How will Australia connect to the rest of the international space economy?</p>
<h2>Focused on old friends</h2>
<p>Before the Australian Space Agency was founded, Australia’s main international relations regarding outer space were with the United States and some European countries. It has long hosted ground stations for <a href="https://www.cdscc.nasa.gov/Pages/other_history.html">NASA</a> and the <a href="https://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/Estrack/New_Norcia_-_DSA_1">European Space Agency</a>.</p>
<p>It has cooperated with other international partners to a lesser extent. The most notable project is the Square Kilometre Array, an astronomy project being built in Australia and South Africa. International partners include Canada, China, India and New Zealand.</p>
<p>Though Australia has indicated it wants to “<a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/data-and-publications/australian-civil-space-strategy-2019-2028">open doors internationally</a>” for space partnerships, so far it has been focused on building up ties with its old friends in the US and Europe. </p>
<p>The Australian Space Agency has been talking to NASA about cooperation, including on NASA’s <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2019/04/05/australia-join-nasa-moon-plans-1246914">Lunar Gateway</a> effort to build a permanent presence on the Moon. It has signed statements of strategic intent with <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-04/joint-ssi-australian-space-agency-and-boeing-company.pdf">Boeing</a> and <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-04/joint-ssi-australian-space-agency-and-lockheed-martin.pdf">Lockheed Martin</a>, two large American aerospace firms that are NASA contractors. A private northern Australian rocket launch company <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/small-business/world-first-startup-wins-nasa-deal-to-launch-rockets-from-australia-20190531-p51t8g.html">reports it is negotiating</a> to launch NASA sounding rockets next year. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nasa-and-space-tourists-might-be-in-our-future-but-first-we-need-to-decide-who-can-launch-from-australia-117912">NASA and space tourists might be in our future but first we need to decide who can launch from Australia</a>
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<p>The US communications firm <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/alice-springs-lands-first-indigenousowned-earth-ground-station/news-story/bb325545fa82578e9569683aeaaddf4c">Viasat</a> plans to build a ground station near Alice Springs. American universities are the only <a href="https://www.cuava.com.au/partners/">foreign partners</a> of Australia’s newly opened CubeSat and unmanned aerial vehicle research centre, CUAVA.</p>
<p>With the Europeans, the Australian Space Agency has signed memoranda of understanding with <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/australian-space-agency-and-french-counterpart-sigh-mou/news-story/f7d1d4311b64b70c2b2158c39764740d">France</a> and <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/748599/181002_MoU_UKSA-ASA_final-SIGNED.pdf">Britain</a>. The Italian space company <a href="http://www.sitael.com/sitael-branch-australia/">SITAEL</a> has expanded to Adelaide, where the Australian Space Agency is based. The federal government’s new SmartSat cooperative research centre has a consortium of nearly 100 industry and research partners. One is the European aerospace giant <a href="https://www.spaceconnectonline.com.au/manufacturing/3316-industry-researchers-jump-on-board-new-smartsat-crc">Airbus</a>, with which the Australian Space Agency has also signed a statement of strategic intent. </p>
<p>These are still early days, but outside of partnerships with the Americans and Europeans, the only major international developments since the Australian Space Agency’s founding are with <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-04/mou-australian-space-agency-and-canadian-space-agency.pdf">Canada</a> and the <a href="https://spacewatch.global/2019/02/australia-and-uae-space-agencies-sign-partnership-mou-in-adelaide/">United Arab Emirates</a>. </p>
<h2>Ties with China and India</h2>
<p>So should Australia diversify its relations? </p>
<p>On the one hand, tying Australia’s space economy to the Americans and Europeans makes sense. Both have large markets and developed space industries. Close ties to both will likely ensure a steady stream of business. </p>
<p>On the other hand, there are benefits to pursuing a new type of multilateralism that is less US- or Euro-centric. </p>
<p>Through the Square Kilometre Array project, Australia has links with China and India. Compared to the Americans and Europeans, these two countries have different competitive strengths in the global space industry. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/to-carve-out-a-niche-in-space-industries-australia-should-focus-on-microgravity-research-rockets-119225">To carve out a niche in space industries, Australia should focus on microgravity research rockets</a>
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<p>Positioning between them could put Australia in a unique place in the global production networks of space science and technology. This is particularly so if relations between some of these larger players are distant (the United States and China, for example). Australia could benefit from being a go-between.</p>
<p>Australia could also choose to supplement these larger relationships with ties to smaller countries. Especially with other new entrants into the space economy – New Zealand established a <a href="https://www.mbie.govt.nz/science-and-technology/space/">space agency</a> in 2016, for example – there are common points of interest. </p>
<p>All are likely to want to diversify relationships with big space powers and not be pushed into dealing with just one or another. Again, friction between the United States and China comes to mind. Smaller space powers could band together to maintain their ability to make their own independent decisions. </p>
<p>There is no right answer about how Australia should proceed with international engagement in the space economy. More accurately, there are different right answers depending on what sort of space power Australia ultimately wants to become.</p>
<p>Australia’s space agency is just one year old. The country does not need to automatically continue its Western orientation. It can instead recreate itself as a truly international actor in the new space economy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/119742/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicholas Borroz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Australia needs more friends, particularly in China and India, to be a force in the international space economy.Nicholas Borroz, PhD candidate in international business and comparative political economy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata RauLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/987032018-07-01T20:07:38Z2018-07-01T20:07:38ZYes we’ve got a space agency – but our industry needs ‘Space Prize Australia’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225071/original/file-20180627-112634-97qm4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A launch like this could happen from Australian soil - with the right investment. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/baikonur-kazakhstan-18-july-2011-launch-588688073">from www.shutterstock.com </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/INDUSTRY/IndustrySectors/SPACE/Pages/default.aspx">Australian Space Agency</a> commenced operations on July 1 2018 with the ambition of <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-14/australian-space-agency-boss-predicts-jobs-boom/9756890">tripling the Australian space economy</a> by 2030. </p>
<p>But with the Australian government <a href="https://theconversation.com/budget-2018-space-agency-details-still-scant-but-gps-and-satellite-imagery-funded-96011">investment of A$41 million</a>, we should not expect anything like <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a> (which has a <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/fy_2018_agency_fact_sheet.pdf">budget</a> more than 2,000 times greater).</p>
<p>On the contrary, the impetus for growth must come from the Australian space industry itself – and that’s why “Space Prize Australia” can work. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/budget-2018-space-agency-details-still-scant-but-gps-and-satellite-imagery-funded-96011">Budget 2018: space agency details still scant - but GPS and satellite imagery funded</a>
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<p>The space industry in Australia is currently characterised by many small, independent and disparate enterprises in niche areas. Surviving in an increasingly competitive global market will require collaboration, pooled experience, and teamwork. In addition to the space agency, we need something to galvanise Australian enterprises in the space industry. </p>
<p>But turning new technology into marketable commodities is a risky enterprise. Along that journey, a prize provides the opportunity to gain financial rewards for demonstrated achievement of milestones. It provides context to draw the attention of potential clients to the prospective commodities of Australian space start-ups.</p>
<p>In the model of previously successful prizes in aeronautics and space, Space Prize Australia could drive an Australian space launch – where the satellite, components, launch vehicle, launch facility, operation, ground control station and user applications all come from Australia.</p>
<h2>The Great Air Race</h2>
<p>On 19 March 1919 the government of Prime Minister Billy Hughes announced a £10,000 prize for the first successful flight from the UK to Australia in an aircraft manned by Australians, for the purpose of “<a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/164127030?">stimulating aerial activity</a>”. </p>
<p>It was known as the <a href="https://www.greatairrace.com.au/">Great Air Race</a>, and within five months of the announcement, six groups of former WWI airmen and their aircraft had formally registered to compete in the race.</p>
<p>Four Australians – Captain Ross Smith, Lieutenant Keith Smith, Sergeant Wally Shiers, and Sergeant James Bennett – <a href="https://www.greatairrace.com.au/history/">won the prize</a>: </p>
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<p>Smith and his team landed at Fannie Bay Airfield in Darwin at 4.12 p.m. on December 10, 1919 and were instantly mobbed by almost the entire population of just under 1,500. Lieutenant Hudson Fysh, soon to be co-founder of the newly formed Qantas, was the first to greet the four airmen.</p>
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<p>Their trip was a bold demonstration of what Australians could do. It connected us to the global economy and community, put Australia at the forefront of global aviation, and provided inspiration and energy for the Australian aviation industry.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/3-2-1-liftoff-the-science-of-launching-rockets-from-australia-98307">3, 2, 1...liftoff! The science of launching rockets from Australia</a>
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<h2>Other space prizes</h2>
<p>The Great Air Race and others like it were the inspiration for more recent prizes, specifically in the space industry. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://ansari.xprize.org/">Ansari X Prize</a> was initiated in 1996 at a value of US$10 million. It was designed to reward the first non-government organisation to launch a reusable manned rocket into space twice within two weeks. The prize was won in 2004 by the <a href="https://www.scaled.com/">Scaled Composites company</a> led by Burt Rutan. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The Ansari X Prize resulted in the first non-government launch of a reusable rocket into space twice in two weeks.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Of greater significance is that it was estimated to have <a href="https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/sites/default/files/article/foundation/Power%20of%20Prizes_0.pdf">generated</a> US$100 million in new technologies investments. The winning technology was licensed to the newly created Virgin Galactic, and Scaled Composites was later sold to aerospace and defence firm Northrop Grumman. </p>
<p>With an initial target date of March 31 2018, the <a href="https://lunar.xprize.org/">Google Lunar X Prize</a> included rewards totalling US$30 million for the first privately funded team to place a spacecraft on the Moon, travel 500 metres and transmit high definition video and images back to Earth. </p>
<p>Interim prizes were awarded, but no team was able to meet the challenge by the deadline. Nevertheless, it is estimated that it <a href="https://lunar.xprize.org/news/blog/important-update-google-lunar-xprize">generated</a> over US$300 million in investments.</p>
<h2>Let’s get started</h2>
<p>Space Prize Australia is, at this stage, a proposal: no one has committed the funds. However, it has the capacity not just to galvanise our space industry enterprises, but also to inspire the Australian population broadly – just as the Great Air Race did. </p>
<p>It could start with crowd-funding – so that everyday Australians can have a stake in the Australian space industry – and with philanthropy from wealthier individuals or groups.</p>
<p>State governments may be interested. The states and territories have already <a href="https://www.innovationaus.com/2018/06/State-comp-heats-up-over-space-agency">demonstrated</a> interest in and commitment to attracting space industry to their cities, and are seeking further opportunities to do so.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/step-up-australia-we-need-a-traffic-cop-in-space-86464">Step up Australia, we need a traffic cop in space</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Federal government agencies could chip in too. As well as the <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/INDUSTRY/IndustrySectors/SPACE/Pages/default.aspx">Australian Space Agency</a>, <a href="https://www.aspi.org.au/report/australias-future-space">Defence</a>, <a href="http://www.ga.gov.au/">Geoscience Australia</a>, <a href="https://www.csiro.au/">CSIRO</a> and <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/">Bureau of Meteorology</a> would <a href="https://room.eu.com/article/call-for-australia-to-head-back-into-space">benefit</a> from the development of an Australian capability to launch Australian satellites on Australian rockets from Australian sites and operate them from Australian facilities.</p>
<p>It is impossible to say how much could be raised as a prize pool from all those sources. But if it could be announced on 19 March 2019 – the 100th anniversary of the announcement of the <a href="https://www.greatairrace.com.au/">Great Air Race</a> – then AU$10m would seem apt. It’s a figure of comparable significance to the £10,000 prize offered in 1919, and would be sufficient to attract several competitive teams.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225252/original/file-20180628-112604-1rsspbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225252/original/file-20180628-112604-1rsspbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225252/original/file-20180628-112604-1rsspbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225252/original/file-20180628-112604-1rsspbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225252/original/file-20180628-112604-1rsspbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225252/original/file-20180628-112604-1rsspbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225252/original/file-20180628-112604-1rsspbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The world was captivated by the launch of Elon Musk’s Falcon Heavy rocket in February 2018.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/blakespot/40090623822/in/photolist-245EWSu-G3kqaS-245DUQA-oTGQQW-23tUm6u-24X8q4u-245EVJ7-247u4Co-9K66RE-EsQFRK-233DNwq-6YsCmo-8GHZ2Q-7CrvRW-9whwcW-adPdvM-ASHtjf-nbqrTq-dT1Zo6-ZnQ9Gn-dT1ZdB-24S6xa8-zmeF3c-8WH9Xi-8WLdbS-aGGF9D-8WLcJd-aqQN98-aqTv8b-VKFogu-UANBD7-f1Esh-9EsqPc-9EsqP2-GqVmke-RcNCC9-AQ22Pc-DFNnzW-GH1RXL-CdKsub-237N6kM-NExEWp-rus7QP-JRpiq6-PQvW5M-HHoTuh-vikKJh-uD1orR-FTtngR-nsXaR3">blakespot/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Inspiration matters</h2>
<p>Space Prize Australia would provide an opportunity for Australian space enterprises to demonstrate their technology, with financial and other support. </p>
<p>The prize would be a means to encourage and facilitate collaboration – potentially with benefits even for enterprises that don’t win. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/no-launch-from-australia-something-missing-from-our-plans-for-the-new-space-race-97924">No launch from Australia: something missing from our plans for the new space race</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The prize could be used, in part, to send the winners on a global tour, to meet with major clients, attend several major events and promote what Australia can do. </p>
<p>It would attract global attention and inspiration and it would showcase Australian space capability to the world. </p>
<p>Perhaps most importantly, it could inspire every Australian girl, boy, man and woman who looks up at the sky at night and wonders what she or he can achieve.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98703/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Duncan Blake is affiliated with the Space Industry Association of Australia (member of the Advisory Council).</span></em></p>Let’s launch Australian satellites on Australian rockets from Australian sites, and operate them from Australian facilities.Duncan Blake, PhD candidate, law and military uses of outer space, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/964952018-05-18T11:00:48Z2018-05-18T11:00:48ZGalileo row: Brexit will bar UK from EU sat-nav programme, but Britain could build its own<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/219197/original/file-20180516-155569-fu5hd2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2014/07/Galileo_satellite_in_orbit">ESA/P. Carril</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>How did satellites become political footballs? The UK government is considering <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43891933">building its own satellite navigation</a> system after <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-44116085">the EU announced</a> the UK wouldn’t be allowed full access to Galileo, the European equivalent of GPS, after Brexit. British-based firms will also be prevented from bidding for contracts to help build Galileo.</p>
<p>This isn’t just grandstanding. As well as general open location data, Galileo provides a more secure “Public Regulated Service” (PRS) for organisations such as the police, coastguard and customs officers. This includes sensitive information that cannot currently be shared with non-EU members. So to gain access to Galileo’s full service, the UK government would have to reach another difficult agreement with the EU on top of everything else it hopes to negotiate.</p>
<p>The UK is very keen to grow its space industry, and the sector already has much of the needed capability to develop a new global navigation satellite system (GNSS). So, if full UK participation in Galileo is no longer allowed after Brexit, a UK GNSS would both be feasible and provide a much-needed boost for the country’s space sector. But, of course, this will come with a significant cost for the UK government.</p>
<p>The average British person interacts with satellites approximately 30 times a day and this is set to increase tenfold <a href="http://www.montfort.london/attachments/articles/a10148_Seraphim%20Press%20Release%20(FINAL).pdf">over the next five years</a>. We all know how sat-nav geolocation services help us travel, but other aspects of the business world such as financial services also rely heavily on GNSS data. This is because the satellites contain <a href="https://www.gps.gov/applications/timing/">highly accurate clocks</a> that enable electronic sales transactions, stock market trading and ATMs.</p>
<p>Once it has left the EU, the UK won’t be entirely excluded from access to Galileo services, just as it can access data from the US’s GPS system. But the reason Galileo was built in the first place was to provide a reliable, secure alternative that European governments had some control over. </p>
<p>There have been times when GPS has failed or has been closed to outside countries. For example, the service <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/06/what-happens-if-gps-fails/486824">briefly failed</a> in 2015 due to the upload of an incorrect time, and the impact was felt globally on emergency services, digital radio and even electrical grids. The US also denied GPS access to India during the 1999 Kargil War <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/How-Kargil-spurred-India-to-design-own-GPS/articleshow/33254691.cms">for military reasons</a> and, in theory, could do so again to other countries.</p>
<p>So a dedicated British GNSS would give the UK government guaranteed secure access to a satellite service over which they had full control. It would also avoid the need to negotiate privileged access to Galileo’s special PRS signal for security services, which other non-EU European countries such as Norway and Switzerland have so far <a href="http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/brexit/2018/04/25/galileo-satellites-illuminate-eu-uk-divorce-tensions-over-essential-business-and-regulatory-frameworks/">failed to do</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/219198/original/file-20180516-155558-1khluub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/219198/original/file-20180516-155558-1khluub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219198/original/file-20180516-155558-1khluub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219198/original/file-20180516-155558-1khluub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219198/original/file-20180516-155558-1khluub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219198/original/file-20180516-155558-1khluub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219198/original/file-20180516-155558-1khluub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The UK helped build Galileo’s satellites.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.sstl.co.uk/Press/Lift-off-for-4-Galileo-satellites-as-SSTL-celebrat">SSTL</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The UK is also very keen to grow its domestic space industry, and has ambitions for it to be worth <a href="http://www.ukspace.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Prosperity-from-Space-strategy_2May2018.pdf">£40 billion by 2030</a>. This is on the back of a robust and ambitious satellite manufacturing sector that already significantly contributes to <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/Exiting-the-European-Union/17-19/Sectoral%20Analyses/34-Space-Report.pdf">around a quarter</a> of all large communication satellites in the world. The UK is also a <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/447284/Draft_Cubesat_regulation_recommendations.pdf">recognised leader</a> in the development and manufacture of smaller satellites such as miniaturised “cubesats”.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.ukspace.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Prosperity-from-Space-strategy_2May2018.pdf">latest publication</a> from industry organisation the Space Growth Partnership states that the “the decision to leave the EU creates particular need to raise our game and avoid complacency”. But it also stresses the need to develop the UK’s own capabilities and for the government to become a key customer of the space sector in order to drive further investment. </p>
<p>The main satellite-maker in the UK, the pan-European firm Airbus has already <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43891933">reportedly said</a> it has the skills and expertise to lead development of any UK alternative to Galileo. The UK government has also heavily invested in research and development for space robotics, such as through the £29m <a href="https://www.fairspacehub.org/">FAIR-SPACE Hub</a> at the University of Surrey. Couple this with plans to make the UK a viable launchpad for smaller satellites by 2020 made possible by a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-laws-unlock-exciting-space-era-for-uk">recent change to the law</a>, and there is a distinct possibility that the UK space sector could respond well to the challenge to develop a UK GNSS.</p>
<h2>High costs</h2>
<p>The UK has already contributed <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/f2440686-47ce-11e8-8ae9-4b5ddcca99b3">€1.4 billion (£1.2 billion)</a> to the estimated €10 billion euros (£8.5 billion) <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/13/eu-working-push-british-companies-galileo-satellite-space-contracts/">cost of Galileo</a>. Rough estimates for the UK to build its own GNSS currently sit at <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/may/09/airbus-space-contract-will-move-from-uk-to-continent-because-of-brexit">£5 billion</a>. But a more realistic estimate would require a long investigation, and other GNSS systems <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/8048641/Galileo-satellite-device-over-budget-running-later-and-unprofitable.html">including Galileo</a> <a href="https://www.defenseone.com/business/2016/05/gps-upgrades-are-late-and-over-budget-heres-why-we-should-stay-course/128178/">and GPS</a> have gone over their original budgets.</p>
<p>Yet while it may be difficult to claw back the money spent on Galileo, or justify such a large project in response to Brexit, secure access to a GNSS is vital for modern society. The UK and its space sector in particular should undoubtedly be deeply concerned about losing access to Galileo and other European space programmes after Brexit. </p>
<p>So perhaps now, more than ever, a UK GNSS would be seen as a welcome endorsement of the strengths of the UK space sector. As Richard Peckham, the chair of the UKSpace trade association who has worked on the Galileo project himself, is <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-44002900">quoted as saying</a>, “a British sat-nav would be a fantastic shot in the arm”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/96495/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ann Swift receives funding from the Satellite Applications Catapult and the UK Space Agency through her work in the South Coast Centre of Excellence in Satellite Applications, which is hosted at the University of Portsmouth where she is employed as an Innovation Fellow.</span></em></p>British space firms would get a shot in the arm from building a new GPS-style system if the UK is shut out of the EU’s programme.Ann Swift, Innovation Fellow, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/965422018-05-15T06:25:43Z2018-05-15T06:25:43ZAs the details emerge on Australia’s new space agency, we (might) finally have lift-off<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/218920/original/file-20180515-100709-p13i0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A promise of new jobs from Australia's new space agency.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Harvepino</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Details of Australia’s new space agency were released on Monday with the <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/industry/IndustrySectors/space/Documents/Australian-Government-Response-to-the-Review-of-Australian-Space-Industry-Capability.pdf">federal government’s response</a> to the <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/industry/IndustrySectors/space/Documents/FINAL_ERG-Review-Report_10-May_accessible.pdf">Report on the Review of Australia’s Space Industry Capability</a>.</p>
<p>The Minister for Jobs and Innovation, Senator Michaelia Cash, also announced the appointment of Dr Megan Clark AC as the interim head of the agency.</p>
<p>Clark, a former head of the CSIRO, was chair of the Expert Review Group that led to the report on the nation’s space industry capability, so she is well placed to deliver on the recommendations that her own panel made.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/space-agency-for-australia-heres-why-its-important-96105">Space Agency for Australia: here's why it's important</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Show me the money</h2>
<p>First, let’s talk about money. Last week’s federal budget set aside <a href="https://budget.gov.au/2018-19/content/business.html">A$41 million for the agency</a>. That’s A$25 million for the agency itself and A$16 million for a space investment fund. This is well towards the bottom end of expectations and there will be limits to what can be achieved with that level of funding. </p>
<p>But we have already seen that this sector can be very productive. The Australian Space Research Program (<a href="http://www.spaceindustry.com.au/Documents/Final_evaluation.pdf">ASRP</a>), which ran from 2010 to 2013, was funded at A$40 million and produced a huge amount of good work such as making the huge Landsat satellite imagery archive more available for users, and testing a scramjet launcher.</p>
<p>Critically, though, that scheme did not put any assets in space, although subsequent work did. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.garada.unsw.edu.au/">project</a> I ran, for instance, developed a space-ready GPS receiver, which now flies on <a href="https://www.engineering.unsw.edu.au/news/we%E2%80%99re-off-to-space">four differently configured cubesats</a> in orbit. Another example is the start-up <a href="http://myriota.com/">Myriota</a>, which spun out of another ASRP project developing “Internet of Things” applications in space.</p>
<h2>Other budget funding</h2>
<p>What can also not be ignored in the federal budget is the <a href="http://minister.industry.gov.au/ministers/canavan/media-releases/better-gps-and-satellite-imagery-support-smarter-economy">A$260 million</a> for a space-based augmentation system (<a href="http://www.spaceindustry.com.au/Documents/White%20Paper%20-%20SBAS.pdf">SBAS</a>) to improve satellite navigation and geospatial technologies. </p>
<p>This dwarfs the direct funding given to the space agency, but may present a good model for how to progress Australian space assets in future. The agency identifies need and solution, does some feasibility work, and facilitates the development.</p>
<p>But the bulk of the funding is recognised for what it really is: <a href="https://theconversation.com/preventing-murray-darling-water-theft-a-space-agency-can-help-australia-manage-federal-resources-83727">critical national infrastructure</a> and is funded accordingly. What happens next should be an open and transparent bidding process, leading to an Australian system consistent with international standards, and bringing new capabilities.</p>
<h2>What’s supported</h2>
<p>The government’s response on the need for a space agency specifically deals with the nine recommendations of the report:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Develop a national industry strategy (supported)</p></li>
<li><p>Focus strategy on “leapfrog” emerging areas such as next generation sensors, communications, propulsion and launch systems (supported)</p></li>
<li><p>Establish the Australian Space Agency (supported)</p></li>
<li><p>Ongoing funding for agency (supported), industry development fund (noted), with the option to bring funding forward (supported in principle)</p></li>
<li><p>Extend treaties and international agreements (supported)</p></li>
<li><p>Work across government departments (supported in principle)</p></li>
<li><p>Facilitate regulation appropriate for Space 2.0 (supported in principle)</p></li>
<li><p>Engage with schools (supported in principle)</p></li>
<li><p>Engage closely with industry (supported).</p></li>
</ul>
<p>For an electorate conditioned to expect governments to ignore recommendations from experts, this is an impressive amount of support, and bodes well for the space agency’s future.</p>
<p>The language of the announcement is enthusiastic: “A$300 million investment in space industry and technology”, “fantastic opportunity to triple the size of our domestic space industry”, “potential to create 20,000 jobs”.</p>
<h2>The journey so far</h2>
<p>It is instructive to reflect on how we got to this point from where we were ten years ago.</p>
<p>In 2008 the Australian Senate Standing Committee on Economics produced a report called <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Economics/Completed_inquiries/2008-10/space_08/report/index">Lost in Space - Setting a new direction for Australia’s space science and industry sector</a>, in which it clearly and unambiguously called for the establishment of a space agency.</p>
<p>The following year the Rudd government launched the <a href="http://www.spaceindustry.com.au/Documents/Final_evaluation.pdf">Australian Space Research Program</a>, funded at A$40 million, which delivered many good outcomes, as mentioned above.</p>
<p>This momentum was then stopped with the release in 2013 of the <a href="https://industry.gov.au/industry/IndustrySectors/space/Publications/Pages/Australias-Satellite-Utilisation-Policy.aspx">Satellite Utilisation Policy</a>, which stated:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>(…) the Australian Government does not see an Australian satellite manufacturing or launch capability as an essential element of its approach to assured access to critical space-enabled services.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The anti-agency lobby, mostly based in Canberra, had intervened, and the agency idea was effectively dead. It was in that hostile environment in 2013 that I first laid out my <a href="https://theconversation.com/ten-reasons-why-australia-urgently-needs-a-space-agency-16386">case</a> for the agency.</p>
<h2>Another about-turn</h2>
<p>Slowly, over the years, others such as the <a href="http://www.spaceindustry.com.au/Documents/SIAA%20White%20Paper%20-%20Advancing%20Australia%20in%20Space.pdf">Space Industry Association of Australia</a>, also came to make an argument. </p>
<p>Unable to resist the growth of space activity, the government set up the Expert Review Panel – chaired by Clark – whose report was released on Monday. But the space agency was <a href="https://ministers.education.gov.au/birmingham/doorstop-interview-adelaide-16">announced last year</a> at the International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide.</p>
<p>From a position where government policy was actively to discourage effort in satellites and launch five years ago, we now have support for a recommendation that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>(…) the Agency facilitates regulatory approval processes for small satellite launch facilities in Australia and the launch of Australian satellites overseas.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is a huge turn-around.</p>
<p>Call it irony, call it the real world, but now some of those in Canberra who so forcefully resisted the agency, making misery for us advocates, are now saying that it must have its main presence in Canberra. Similarly, South Australia is <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-25/sa-should-play-role-in-australias-new-space-agency-premier-says/8984194">lobbying strongly to host it</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-were-looking-for-in-australias-space-agency-views-from-nsw-and-sa-92278">What we're looking for in Australia's Space Agency: views from NSW and SA</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>When I have pointed to the <a href="https://consult.industry.gov.au/space-activities/review-of-australian-space-industry-capability/consultation/view_respondent?_b_index=120&uuId=173909982">New South Wales submission</a> to the Expert Review Panel, and the 17 ways in which NSW dominates the space sector in Australia (listed in the comments section <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-were-looking-for-in-australias-space-agency-views-from-nsw-and-sa-92278">here</a>), I am not saying the agency must be in NSW – I’m saying that there is no case to favour either SA or the ACT.</p>
<p>The Shadow Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research Kim Carr has already warned against “<a href="https://www.innovationaus.com/2018/05/Space-agency-details-revealed">pitting states against each other</a>”, and Raytheon Australia says that state rivalry for Defence work is getting “<a href="https://www.defenceconnect.com.au/key-enablers/1952-state-rivalry-for-defence-work-reaching-hysterics-raytheon-australia">hysterical</a>”.</p>
<p>A national approach, with nodes in each state and territory, will be the most productive solution. All of the states have exciting things happening – we don’t want to mess that up.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/96542/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Dempster works for UNSW. He receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Defence Materials and Technology Centre. He is affiliated with the Space Industry Association of Australia and Seaskip Pty Ltd. </span></em></p>New jobs and investment for Australia’s growing space industry are promised with the backing of the new space agency. It’s hoped that all states and territories will benefit from a national approach.Andrew Dempster, Director, Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research; Professor, School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/845882017-09-25T05:31:57Z2017-09-25T05:31:57ZYes, Australia will have a space agency. What does this mean? Experts respond<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187316/original/file-20170925-18322-1m9wj6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A space agency will allow Australia to sit at the table with NASA, ESA and other global agencies. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/extremely-detailed-realistic-high-resolution-3d-442682455?src=FFRSlzGblmX6NM7mH4NDKw-1-0">from www.shutterstock.com </a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>In front of an expectant audience of more than 4,000 international delegates attending the <a href="http://www.iac2017.org/">International Aeronautical Congress</a> in Adelaide, today <a href="https://www.senatorbirmingham.com.au/">Senator Simon Birmingham</a> - representing Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=bv7">Arthur Sinodinos</a> – announced Australia’s federal government is committed to a space agency.</em> </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"912119868312260608"}"></div></p>
<p><em>Although details on timelines, funding and practicalities are yet to be described, here three experts address the question of how an Australian space agency will support the sector.</em></p>
<hr>
<h3>Andrew Dempster (Director, Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research UNSW)</h3>
<p>This announcement has the potential to be monumental, and great reward for people (including me) who have fought for an agency for many years. </p>
<p>Interestingly, the announcement preempts the report of the government’s <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/industry/IndustrySectors/space/Pages/Review-of-Australian-Space-Industry-Capability.aspx">Review of Australia’s Space Industry Capability</a>, which is due in March. The roundtable events in support of this review have resoundingly supported establishment of an agency, with most of the effort <a href="https://theconversation.com/just-one-small-step-for-australias-space-industry-when-a-giant-leap-is-needed-81100">dedicated to its role and structure</a>.</p>
<p>We are still awaiting detail of how such an agency would look. What is critical is that the agency is not simply a replica of the earlier Space Policy Unit, and Space Coordination Office. These were small offices primarily focused on policy and the workings of government.</p>
<p>The real opportunity an agency offers is the growth of the local industry to the point where it is sustainable and can deliver big projects – <a href="https://theconversation.com/preventing-murray-darling-water-theft-a-space-agency-can-help-australia-manage-federal-resources-83727">Australian solutions to Australian problems</a>: i.e. it is about Australian sovereignty. </p>
<p>To be successful in that regard, commitment to a space agency cannot be halfhearted. It must be resourced with the right quality and quantity of people to deliver a vibrant Australian industry. </p>
<p>Once that is achieved, and the benefits become obvious, we’ll all be asking why we didn’t do it decades ago. </p>
<hr>
<h3>Graziella Caprarelli (Associate Professor in space science, UniSA)</h3>
<p>Details about the structure and brief of the announced future National Space Agency are not known at present. Ideally, an Australian space agency should oversee the coordination and development of the entire space supply chain.</p>
<p>Right now, the quality and impact of Australian space research is demonstrably well above the size of its scientific and aerospace engineering community. This fertile scientific and technological environment has encouraged many young startups revolving around space technology and space data. </p>
<p>Access to space is therefore crucial to ensure the sustainable growth of this nascent industry. This can only happen under the purview of a dedicated Australian agency, tasked with the coordination of all civilian space related activities in the country, with the delegation to allocate and distribute resources, and to represent and facilitate Australian interests internationally. </p>
<p>The present focus is on the many possibilities of economic growth and industrial development. But the long-term sustainability of a space industry in Australia will critically depend on the availability of local talent, steady supply of expertise, and the manufacturing and technical skills required to bring Australia to space. </p>
<p>This requires strong and continued support for STEM education, investment in space science and technology, research and training. An Australian space agency would therefore be responsible for all space-related activities. </p>
<p>There may be concerns that such portfolio may require the institution of a new giant bureaucracy. This need not be so, if the future agency is structured in a way that captures the expertise of the many groups and individuals already working in space-related fields all over Australia. </p>
<hr>
<h3>Duncan Blake, PhD candidate (Law and military uses of outer space, University of Adelaide)</h3>
<p>This announcement is exciting not just for Australian space industry, but also for future generations in Australia and for the global space industry. <a href="http://www.spaceindustry.com.au/contact.php">Michael Davis</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/brett-biddington-7151">Brett Biddington</a> and others – who are responsible for bringing the <a href="http://www.iac2017.org/">International Aeronautical Congress</a> to Australia – have shown that industry can and will lead. </p>
<p>Australia rates <a href="https://www.science.org.au/news-and-events/events/public-speaker-series/dawn-new-space-age/australian-satellites-and-where-find">very highly in space startups per capita</a>: these are not big, multinational companies, but small enterprises making an disproportionate contribution in niche areas. </p>
<p>The Australian space agency will have a regulatory role, obviously, but it needs to do what the industry can’t do for itself. It needs to represent the Australian people at home and abroad, it needs to pursue Australia’s interests in global space governance bodies, it needs to not only help seize opportunities for Australia but actually create opportunities and it needs to be a focal point internally and externally. </p>
<p>Perhaps most importantly, it needs to facilitate collaboration by the many government agencies, plus the academic, research and other civil institutions and the growing number of commercial enterprises involved in space in Australia. </p>
<p>It also needs a strategy that identifies some enduring, national “beacon” projects to muster the immense energy in the Australian space industry right now and which will herald our place in space. This, and more, is what we hope to hear about in the next few days, or at most, months.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84588/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Dempster receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Duncan Blake is a member of the Space Industry Association of Australia and provides consultancy services in space law and strategy for International Aerospace Law and Policy Group.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Graziella Caprarelli does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Australia’s space sector responded positively to today’s federal government commitment to a space agency. Our experts explain what must come next.Andrew Dempster, Director, Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research; Professor, School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, UNSW SydneyDuncan Blake, PhD candidate, law and military uses of outer space, University of AdelaideGraziella Caprarelli, Associate Professor in Space Science, University of South AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/811002017-07-18T06:20:43Z2017-07-18T06:20:43ZJust one small step for Australia’s space industry when a giant leap is needed<p>An expert review of the Australian space industry’s capabilities to participate in a global market <a href="http://minister.industry.gov.au/ministers/sinodinos/media-releases/expert-review-australia%E2%80%99s-space-industry-capabilities-participate">was announced last week</a> by the Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Arthur Sinodinos. He said the aim is to “develop a long-term plan to grow this important and exciting sector” and report in March 2018. </p>
<p>Interestingly, the words “space agency” do not appear in the announcement, but this was addressed later when the minister <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-13/space-agency-on-the-cards-as-australia-announces-review/8703740">spoke to the media</a>.</p>
<p>The space community had been expecting an announcement of this sort for some time. Many expected one to be made for maximum impact at or near the International Astronautical Congress (<a href="http://www.iac2017.org/">IAC</a>) to be held in Adelaide in September, when Australia’s space community will be on show to the world.</p>
<h2>Another failure to launch</h2>
<p>Many also expected that the announcement would be of the establishment of an agency, rather than yet another committee and review of the industry. There seems to be at least one of these every year, with the past year alone seeing the <a href="https://industry.gov.au/industry/IndustrySectors/space/Pages/Review-of-the-Space-Activities-Act-1998.aspx">Space Activities Act review</a>, the <a href="http://www.spaceindustry.com.au/Documents/SIAA%20White%20Paper%20-%20Advancing%20Australia%20in%20Space.pdf">Space Industry Association of Australia (SIAA) white paper</a> and the annual <a href="https://industry.gov.au/industry/IndustrySectors/space/Publications/Pages/The-State-of-Space-Report.aspx">State of Space report</a>.</p>
<p>That frustration was voiced by the Shadow Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Labor Senator <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-13/space-agency-on-the-cards-as-australia-announces-review/8703740">Kim Carr</a>, when he said Australia “desperately” needed to move towards having its own space agency.</p>
<p>This is a little rich, as Labor had the opportunity to go to the last election with a comprehensive space policy that included an agency, but failed to do so (<a href="https://theconversation.com/lets-talk-about-the-space-industry-in-australias-election-campaign-61567">like every major party</a>). The 2016 NSW Labor Party Conference event asking if Australia should have a space program (at which I presented) did not lead to substantive action.</p>
<p>In commissioning a review that will not report until next March, the federal government has effectively ensured that there will be no Australian space policy of any merit to discuss at September’s IAC conference. </p>
<p>Australia will not have a space agency, or even a plan for one, when the eyes of the space world are on us. When all that international attention has disappeared next year, the idea could be shelved yet again.</p>
<p>That all sounds rather negative, and may imply an expectation that nothing substantial will happen as a result of this new review.</p>
<p>I have been in the space sector in some capacity since the 1980s and, despite there being many strong reasons (<a href="https://theconversation.com/ten-reasons-why-australia-urgently-needs-a-space-agency-16386">at least 10</a>) to support an agency, I’ve seen this type of thing happen over and over again without result.</p>
<h2>Reasons to act now</h2>
<p>But this time around there are real grounds to expect that things should be different. So what are they?</p>
<p>First, there is what you might call the “<a href="https://www.rocketlabusa.com/">Rocket Lab</a>” effect. When a company started preparing to <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-26/new-zealand-launches-first-rocket-into-space/8561958">launch rockets from New Zealand</a>, the logical reaction from the government there was to create an agency, effectively trying to build an industry around this project. In other words, the innovators forced a response from government.</p>
<p>Arguably, this effect is stronger in Australia. Several startup companies are effectively putting the same type of pressure on the Australian government. Two that recently achieved early funding are <a href="http://www.fleet.space/">Fleet</a> in South Australia (doing the “internet of things” from space) and <a href="http://www.gspacetech.com/">Gilmour Space Technologies</a> in Queensland (launching small satellites). There are at least a dozen others.</p>
<p>Second, an Australian space agency makes more sense now than ever before, with the emergence of what has been called “Space 2.0”. The old paradigm of big, expensive satellites and big, clunky agencies has been disrupted by easier access to space and the increasingly commercial use of space. Australia can leapfrog the old way of doing things, because most local start-ups are working on Space 2.0 applications.</p>
<p>The small satellite market causing this disruption is growing at more than <a href="http://www.satmagazine.com/story.php?number=1938099248">20% per year</a> and will be worth about US$7 billion by 2020. Nanosatellites or “cubesats” are fundamental to this growth.</p>
<p>Recently, three cubesats deployed from the International Space Station were the first Australian-built satellites in <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-back-in-the-satellite-business-with-a-new-launch-76090">15 years</a>. The <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-26/australian-cubesats-lost-in-space-found-with-international-help/8651514">story</a> of my team establishing contact with two of them after they were initially silent was a great feat of engineering.</p>
<p>So Australia is already participating in Space 2.0 – we have active nano-satellites launched and innovative companies funded.</p>
<p>Third, the committee appointed by Sinodinos has a healthy number of members not aligned with traditional agency thinking. These include <a href="http://people.csiro.au/W/D/Dave-Williams">David Williams</a> from CSIRO. He set up the UK agency, which is <a href="https://theconversation.com/investing-in-space-what-the-uk-space-agency-can-teach-australia-28559">a good model for Australia to follow</a> given it is focused on industry growth.</p>
<p>Also on the committee are local entrepreneurs Jason Held (<a href="https://saberastro.com/">Saber Astronautics</a>) and Flavia Tata Nardini (<a href="http://www.fleet.space/open-letter/">Fleet</a>), who run small companies with new approaches to space. </p>
<p>The absence of large multinationals has been lamented by some commentators, but not by me. The Communications Alliance is a voice for Australian’s communications industry, including those involved in the satellite industry, and its chief executive John Stanton was quoted in a Communications Day newsletter saying the review was “remarkably light on industry participants”.</p>
<p>In any case, large companies are represented by Michael Davis of the Space Industry Association of Australia (SIAA), which <a href="http://www.spaceindustry.com.au/database/dbase_public.php">lists almost 400 Australian organisations</a> as members.</p>
<p>Fourth, most of the case for an agency has already been made by the SIAA in its recent <a href="http://www.spaceindustry.com.au/Documents/SIAA%20White%20Paper%20-%20Advancing%20Australia%20in%20Space.pdf">white paper</a>. This does much of the new review committee’s work for it, and allows it to use the time between now and March to try to define the role and structure that any agency will take.</p>
<p>Fifth, the current government has already shown a willingness to facilitate growth in the sector by <a href="https://industry.gov.au/industry/IndustrySectors/space/Pages/Review-of-the-Space-Activities-Act-1998.aspx">reforming the Space Activities Act</a>. Although the Act is primarily regulatory, and its reform is an exercise in removal of red tape, the move will genuinely make it easier to run space businesses in Australia.</p>
<p>Finally, this industry attracts innovators like almost no other - <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jun/16/life-on-mars-elon-musk-reveals-details-of-his-colonisation-vision">Elon Musk’s efforts to get to Mars</a> are only one high-profile example.</p>
<p>There is a groundswell of activity right here, right now, with a critical mass of brilliant young minds developing a 21st-century space industry, but needing supportive infrastructure to make it happen. </p>
<p>In other words, the environment and timing are right for the establishment of an Australian space agency. This review is just one small step towards that goal. At least it’s in the right direction, but is it necessary at all?</p>
<p>With Labor’s only complaint being that an agency is not being launched soon enough, bipartisanship on the issue seems assured. So why not take the giant leap?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81100/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Dempster receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He is on the Advisory Committee of the Space Industry Association of Australia. </span></em></p>We don’t need another review of Australia’s space industry, we just need a space agency.Andrew Dempster, Director, Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research; Professor, School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/760902017-04-18T05:01:51Z2017-04-18T05:01:51ZAustralia’s back in the satellite business with a new launch<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165181/original/image-20170413-25865-7xicuu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=686%2C0%2C2082%2C1245&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An artist's impression of the UNSW-EC0 cubesat in Earth's orbit.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">UNSW</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The first Australian-built satellites to be launched in 15 years are set to take off this week from Cape Canaveral in Florida. </p>
<p>Unlike the enormous satellites Australia uses for telecommunications, each of these new satellites is the size of a loaf of bread. But although small, they may provide a key step in enabling Australia’s entry into the global satellite market.</p>
<p>Three types of <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/content/what-are-smallsats-and-cubesats">cubesats</a> are the Australian contribution to the international <a href="https://www.qb50.eu/">QB50</a> mission, in which 36 satellites from different institutions around the world will carry instruments provided by the Von Karman Institute (<a href="https://www.vki.ac.be/">VKI</a>) to examine the lower <a href="https://scied.ucar.edu/shortcontent/thermosphere-overview">thermosphere</a>. This is a very interesting part of the <a href="http://www.acser.unsw.edu.au/QB50">atmosphere</a> for several reasons, such as the way it disturbs GPS measurements.</p>
<p>The cubesats will be first delivered to the International Space Station, and then released into their orbits.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2Cen3uMG_ik?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">One of Australia’s entries in the cubesat race to space.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The three teams that developed the Australian cubesats are: one from <a href="http://www.acser.unsw.edu.au/QB50">UNSW</a>, one collaboration between the <a href="http://sydney.edu.au/inspire-cubesat/project/index.shtml">University of Sydney, the Australian National University and UNSW</a>, and one collaboration between the <a href="https://upload.qb50.eu/detail/AU01/">universities of Adelaide and South Australia</a>.</p>
<p>Once the VKI instrument and support systems (power, communications, and so on) are installed, there is still room for the teams to install payloads of their own.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165182/original/image-20170413-25878-1b0rzpo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165182/original/image-20170413-25878-1b0rzpo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165182/original/image-20170413-25878-1b0rzpo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165182/original/image-20170413-25878-1b0rzpo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165182/original/image-20170413-25878-1b0rzpo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165182/original/image-20170413-25878-1b0rzpo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165182/original/image-20170413-25878-1b0rzpo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165182/original/image-20170413-25878-1b0rzpo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">PhD student Ben Southwell working on the loaf-sized UNSW-ECO satellite at AITC.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">UNSW</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The UNSW cubesat, known as UNSW-EC0, is running <a href="http://www.acser.unsw.edu.au/QB50#experimental">four experiments</a> including a GPS receiver, and two boards testing radiation-robust software and self-healing electronics. The fourth experiment is to test the satellite’s chassis, built using a 3D-printed material never before flown in space.</p>
<p>The launch is significant, not just because it is so long since Australia built satellites, but because it could be the start of something much bigger. </p>
<h2>Small is good</h2>
<p>Globally, the space industry had an estimated <a href="http://audacy.space/blog/2016/10/21/vcs-in-space">US$335 billion (AU$440 billion) turnover</a> in 2015. It’s expected to reach <a href="http://www.ukspace.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Space-IGS-Space-Growth-Action-Plan-2014-2030-Nov-2013.pdf">US$1 trillion (AU$1.3 trillion) </a> by 2030.</p>
<p>This is an innovation sector Australia cannot ignore, and small satellites – especially <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cubesats/overview">nano-satellites or cubesats</a> – offer Australia a way in.</p>
<p>According to a report last month by <a href="https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/small-satellite-market">Allied Market Research</a>, the small satellite market is expected to be worth US$7 billion (AU$9.2 billion) by 2020, with a compound annual growth rate of about 20%.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165183/original/image-20170413-25882-10vf0jw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165183/original/image-20170413-25882-10vf0jw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165183/original/image-20170413-25882-10vf0jw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165183/original/image-20170413-25882-10vf0jw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165183/original/image-20170413-25882-10vf0jw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165183/original/image-20170413-25882-10vf0jw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165183/original/image-20170413-25882-10vf0jw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165183/original/image-20170413-25882-10vf0jw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Artist’s impression of UNSW-ECO in orbit.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">UNSW</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Analyst Spaceworks <a href="http://spaceworkseng.com/spaceworks-releases-2017-nanomicrosatellite-market-assessment/">said in February</a> that by 2023, the requirement for launches in the 1kg to 50kg class will be 320 to 460 satellites per year, more than 70% of them for commercial purposes. </p>
<p>Another analyst Euroconsult <a href="http://www.euroconsult-ec.com/7_July_2016">last year said</a> there would be more than 3,500 small satellite launches in the next decade, worth US$22 billion (AU$29 billion) with launch earnings of US$5.3 billion (AU$7 billion). That’s a 76% increase over the previous decade.</p>
<h2>Australia in space</h2>
<p>This disruption has the potential to be more important for Australia than for any other developed nation. </p>
<p>Australia is the largest economy in the world not to have a space agency, which I have <a href="https://theconversation.com/ten-reasons-why-australia-urgently-needs-a-space-agency-16386">highlighted before</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/investing-in-space-what-the-uk-space-agency-can-teach-australia-28559">suggested</a> ways <a href="https://theconversation.com/lets-talk-about-the-space-industry-in-australias-election-campaign-61567">forward</a>. As a result, Australia has not developed a traditional space industry.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165514/original/image-20170418-32689-1y7zsml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165514/original/image-20170418-32689-1y7zsml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165514/original/image-20170418-32689-1y7zsml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165514/original/image-20170418-32689-1y7zsml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165514/original/image-20170418-32689-1y7zsml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165514/original/image-20170418-32689-1y7zsml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165514/original/image-20170418-32689-1y7zsml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165514/original/image-20170418-32689-1y7zsml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The University of Sydney’s Prof Iver Cairns with its i-INSPIRE-2 cubesat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">UNSW/University of Sydney</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Exploiting cubesats offers an opportunity for Australia to participate in this industry, despite the absence of an agency.</p>
<p>In the same way that the success of <a href="https://www.rocketlabusa.com/">Rocket Lab</a> forced New Zealand to establish a <a href="http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/sectors-industries/space">space agency</a>, Australia’s success with cubesats could finally see the establishment of an agency here.</p>
<h2>A gathering of space minds</h2>
<p>The launch of the QB50 cubesats has been delayed several times and is currently slated for 1am (AEST) on Wednesday April 19.</p>
<p>So by sheer coincidence it will coincide with a gathering in Sydney of the Australian cubesat community – <a href="http://www.acser.unsw.edu.au/cubesat2017">CUBESAT 2017: Launching Cubesats for and from Australia</a> – that will showcase some of the remarkable progress Australia has made in recent years.</p>
<p>This includes three cubesat missions that have constructed satellites – QB50 mentioned above, and <a href="https://www.dst.defence.gov.au/news/2016/10/20/satellite-research-partnership-forefront-australian-space-research">a further two</a> from the Defence Science and Technology Group: Biarri (two launches of one cubesat and three cubesats) and Buccaneer (one cubesat).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165184/original/image-20170413-25878-u1lwoy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165184/original/image-20170413-25878-u1lwoy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165184/original/image-20170413-25878-u1lwoy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165184/original/image-20170413-25878-u1lwoy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165184/original/image-20170413-25878-u1lwoy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165184/original/image-20170413-25878-u1lwoy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165184/original/image-20170413-25878-u1lwoy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165184/original/image-20170413-25878-u1lwoy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dr Barnaby Osborne, Dr Joon Wayn Cheong and John Lam with early stage UNSW-ECO.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">UNSW</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A large number of Australian start-ups are looking to operate in the global small satellite market. </p>
<p>Several companies are developing launch capability, including <a href="http://www.gspacetech.com/">Gilmour Space Technologies</a> in Queensland. Other companies are developing ground segment capability to help manage operational satellites including <a href="https://saberastro.com/">Saber Astronautics</a> in Sydney. Some are developing cubesat components such as <a href="http://www.obelisksystems.com/">Obelisk Systems</a> in Maitland, New South Wales.</p>
<p>Ambitiously, there are also companies looking to develop cubesat constellations, which are large numbers of satellites with orbits optimised for global coverage for a range of different applications. The Australian leader at present is <a href="http://www.fleet.space/">Fleet</a> from Adelaide.</p>
<h2>Government interest</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.acser.unsw.edu.au/cubesat2017">CUBESAT 2017</a> is the second workshop of its kind. When the first was run, two years ago, there was no way then to anticipate the huge leaps Australia has made in this niche area of space. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165185/original/image-20170413-25901-1owofcr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165185/original/image-20170413-25901-1owofcr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165185/original/image-20170413-25901-1owofcr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165185/original/image-20170413-25901-1owofcr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165185/original/image-20170413-25901-1owofcr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165185/original/image-20170413-25901-1owofcr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165185/original/image-20170413-25901-1owofcr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165185/original/image-20170413-25901-1owofcr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Artist’s impression of UNSW-ECO leaving the International Space Station.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">UNSW</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Recently, the Space Industry Association of Australia released a <a href="http://www.spaceindustry.com.au/Documents/SIAA%20White%20Paper%20-%20Advancing%20Australia%20in%20Space.pdf">white paper</a> calling for a space agency. </p>
<p>There was some encouragement for the community in the <a href="http://www.skynews.com.au/news/politics/federal/2017/03/18/space-researchers-call-for-government-action.html">response</a> from the federal Science Minister, Senator Arthur Sinodinos, to that call when he said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’m quite excited at the idea of us doing more in space.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So there is hope we may see some developments.</p>
<p>In terms of cubesats, it is with great excitement we look forward to where we’ll be in the next two years, when perhaps we can say, with Australian-made assets in space, that the Australian space industry has finally been established.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/76090/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Dempster is Director of the Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research at UNSW. He manages one of the teams that developed the cubesats mentioned and will host the workshop mentioned. He receives funding from the Australian Research Council.
</span></em></p>Australia’s hoping to take a share of the billion-dollar space industry with the launch of its first totally Australian-built satellites in 15 years.Andrew Dempster, Director, Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research; Professor, School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/615672016-06-27T19:28:29Z2016-06-27T19:28:29ZLet’s talk about the space industry in Australia’s election campaign<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/128013/original/image-20160624-28366-ydyzk1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There are jobs to be created if Australia does more to tap into the billion-dollar space industry.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/trevor_dobson_inefekt69/18633848458/">Flickr/inefekt</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>New Zealand’s <a href="http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/sectors-industries/space">announcement this month</a> that it will establish a space agency means that of the <a href="http://www.oecd.org/about/membersandpartners/">34 countries in the OECD</a>, only two are not represented in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_government_space_agencies">international community</a> by a space agency: Iceland and Australia. Could we be last in space?</p>
<p>The benefits of a national space program have been listed many times, most recently by the Canadians in their <a href="http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/pdf/eng/publications/2015-assessment-canadian-space-sector-v2.pdf">Comprehensive Socio-Economic Impact Assessment Of The Canadian Space Sector</a>. This cited a number of exciting things about the space business:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>The global space industry generated revenues estimated at US$250-billion in 2013, of which 80% was for commercial activities and 20% for government activities.</p></li>
<li><p>The Canadian space sector employs 9,784 workers involved in a wide array of highly qualified jobs, and generated cumulative revenues of US$5.37-billion in 2013.</p></li>
<li><p>The sector has grown nearly six times faster than Canada’s national job market and is a magnet for highly qualified personnel (engineers, scientists and technicians), who accounted for 53% of its workforce.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>If Canada with a <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/stats-can-36-million-canada-population-1.3494677">population of 36 million</a> can achieve so much in the space sector, then why not Australia (<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-16/australias-population-reaches-24-million/7170274">population 24 million</a>)?</p>
<p>When setting up their agency, <a href="http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/sectors-industries/space">New Zealand cited</a> “opportunities for New Zealand to take a more active role in this high value, knowledge-intensive economy” and pursuing “disruptive, innovative technologies to tackle some of our planet’s big challenges and to create new and exciting opportunities for economic growth”.</p>
<p>We have heard words of this type from our own government. New Zealand, though, has acted.</p>
<h2>Space in the election campaign</h2>
<p>Space (and engineering, science and technology in general) has not been an issue discussed in this year’s Australian federal election campaign. The only party with a <a href="http://www.scienceparty.org.au/space_policy">distinct space policy</a> is the Science Party. </p>
<p>Labor has had a National Space Policy in its <a href="https://cdn.australianlabor.com.au/documents/ALP_National_Platform.pdf">platform</a> for some time without delivering it.</p>
<p>The Coalition has increased the prominence of space significantly in its <a href="https://www.liberal.org.au/latest-news/2016/02/25/2016-defence-white-paper">Defence White Paper</a>, without saying anything much about the civilian sector.</p>
<p>The Science Party’s policy is eminently sensible: measured, achievable and with clear outcomes of great benefit to the economy. It calls for the establishment of an Australian Space Technology & Research Agency with a plan to capture 3% of the global space market within ten years.</p>
<p>It points to the <a href="http://www.industry.gov.au/industry/IndustrySectors/space/SpaceIndustryDevelopment/Pages/SelectiveReviewAustralianSpaceCapabilities.aspx">Space Industry Association’s 2015 report</a> which estimated that the Australian space industry was then generating revenue in the range of A$3 to A$4 billion per year, approximately 0.6% to 0.9% of the existing world market.</p>
<p>That world market is expected to grow to A$1 trillion over the next 20 years.</p>
<p>There is nothing in the Science Party policy that would “scare the horses”, and all of its suggestions could live happily in policies of either major party. In fact as I have argued <a href="https://theconversation.com/investing-in-space-what-the-uk-space-agency-can-teach-australia-28559">before</a>, there is no reason for the horses to be scared anyway. The UK Space Agency has given us a model whereby setting up a space program need not be expensive. </p>
<h2>Agencies elsewhere</h2>
<p>Both the UK and Canadian agencies are <a href="https://theconversation.com/ten-reasons-why-australia-urgently-needs-a-space-agency-16386">worth examining</a> for Australia.</p>
<p>The Science Party’s policy, along with some <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/aviation/join-european-space-agency-expert-warwick-holmes-urges-australia/news-story/052f93325c6d4a40d7faf8b11e9f0c6a">prominent figures</a>, advocates for Australia to become a member of the European Space Agency, as Canada has very successfully been since 1979.</p>
<p>This clearly has not damaged Canada’s relationship with the US. Australia would stand to benefit from the vast experience of the European agencies, effectively getting a hand up.</p>
<p>In some ways, a hand up may not even be necessary. Now, before the election, three cubesats are <a href="https://twitter.com/acserunsw">undergoing tests</a> at the AITC facility in Canberra. These are small satellites. One built by ACSER at UNSW, one as a University of Sydney/ANU/UNSW collaboration and one by University of Adelaide and UniSA.</p>
<p>These are the first Australian satellites built in more than 15 years, and they are an example of the philosophy behind Space 2.0, where the big expensive agency-driven satellites are being replaced by disruptive low-cost access to space driven more by commercial interests.</p>
<p>A modern agency for Australia would embrace these trends to deliver efficient outcomes. Cubesats are also fundamental to <a href="http://www.deltavspacehub.com/#space20">Delta V</a>, a space business incubator initiative based in Sydney that aims to create an ecosystem for development of space businesses, with a dozen start-ups already engaged.</p>
<h2>Regulations, regulations and regulations</h2>
<p>But gaining approval to launch these satellites has proved difficult, with current government regulation requiring exorbitant insurance cover for such small inexpensive satellites. </p>
<p>To its credit, the government has called for a <a href="http://www.industry.gov.au/industry/IndustrySectors/space/Pages/Review-of-the-Space-Activities-Act-1998.aspx#header">review</a> of the Space Activities Act to address this and other issues, with submissions from the sector.</p>
<p>The hope is that these submissions from industry consultation will be more successful than the industry submissions (<a href="http://www.acser.unsw.edu.au/sites/acser/files/uploads/files/ResponseToDraftPolicyv2.pdf">ours is here</a>), which were entirely ignored when preparing the <a href="http://www.industry.gov.au/industry/IndustrySectors/space/Publications/Pages/Australias-Satellite-Utilisation-Policy.aspx">Satellite Utilisation Policy</a>.</p>
<p>That policy doesn’t mention the Space 2.0 opportunities, and it is important to note that neither the review of the Act nor the policy provide any vision for the future, or discussion of an appropriate space program or agency.</p>
<p>We’re not asking that we be as bold as Luxembourg, which has <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35482427">announced in February this year</a> that it wants to lead the world in off-earth mining (although we at ACSER are also giving <a href="https://theconversation.com/want-to-colonise-space-its-time-to-start-off-earth-mining-11739">that</a> a <a href="http://www.acser.unsw.edu.au/off-earth-mining">crack</a>).</p>
<p>What we want is for Australia not to be last.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/61567/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Dempster receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Defence Science and Technology Group. </span></em></p>Increasing Australia’s role in the billion-dollar global space industry has hardly raised a mention in this year’s federal election campaign.Andrew Dempster, Director, Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research; Professor, School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/429262015-06-08T13:42:32Z2015-06-08T13:42:32ZOf course space exploration is worth the money<p>I don’t suppose that readers would expect me to contradict the title of this article – that would be tantamount to signing my own redundancy notice. But, given <a href="https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2015/02/16/juncker-plan-315bn-investment-eu-trouble-nobel-scientists-criticise/">an environment</a> where phrases such as “pay restraint”, “austerity package” and “falling service provision” are bandied around, it might be thought somewhat profligate to suggest that millions of pounds (euros, dollars) are spent on exploration of space.</p>
<p>Why do we need to go to Mars? How many pictures of galaxies do we need? Surely that money could be better spent on more worthy areas, such as health and education?</p>
<p>But the millions do not go up in smoke: they are used to pay for jobs and services.</p>
<p>Rockets and spaceflight instruments do not assemble themselves. They are designed and built by people, who get paid. They are fabricated from components which have to be manufactured and then purchased. The community engaged in the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/engineering/11221945/UK-space-industry-behind-Rosetta-comet-mission.html">space industry</a> includes specialist scientists and engineers, designers, graphic artists and IT professionals, as well as a vast support system: HR, catering, cleaning, etc.</p>
<p>This is where much of the space budget is spent - on salaries that in turn generate a market for other goods and services (houses, clothing, food) – as well as returning funds to the government through taxation. In fact, the European Space Agency might be regarded as a massive money-spinning operation, in which every euro contributed by the government is returned ten-fold to the nation in terms of the value of the jobs generated. </p>
<p>How the space budget is spent is just one of the major benefits which comes from the UK’s space industry, one of the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/298362/igs-action-plan.pdf">fastest-growing sectors</a> of the UK economy.</p>
<p>There are other spin-offs, because “space” is much closer than is generally thought. When talking about space, people usually think about stars and galaxies, wonderful images from telescopes, Neil Armstrong walking on the Moon, the rings of Saturn, and so on.</p>
<p>Looking much closer to home, the armada of satellites orbiting the Earth that, among many other things, beam information to satellite navigation systems, broadcast television programmes and monitor the weather are part of a global space network. Where would we be now if we didn’t have the internet? These are daily services which we take for granted, and are rarely, if ever, considered as “space exploration”.</p>
<p>Along with an understanding of what goes into space exploration comes an appreciation of the people who help to make space exploration happen: teachers. Without their inspirational support and guidance, we would not have succeeding generations of engineers, scientists and other specialists who make the UK’s space industry so successful.</p>
<p>But the UK has been so successful in growing its space industry, it doesn’t have enough “homegrown” specialists to employ. So we need more teachers, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-26383528">more trained</a> scientists and engineers – and more space industry.</p>
<p>Is space a waste of money? Certainly not. </p>
<p><em>The author recently gave a talk on this topic at the <a href="http://www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/science/whats-on/2015/space-is-it-worth-the-money/">Cheltenham Science Festival</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/42926/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<h4 class="border">Disclosure</h4><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Monica Grady receives funding from the STFC and is a Trustee of Lunar Mission One.</span></em></p>The millions we spend on the space industry don’t go up in smoke: they pay for jobs, services, new technology and much more.Monica Grady, Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences, The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.