Southern Space - 10 February

Southern Space is a weekly newsletter produced by SIAA to inform the Australian space industry?

Industry News

New Tasmanian Comms Antenna:?The?University of Tasmania , in partnership with the Australian Space Agency, has developed a new communications antenna located at UTAS’ Greenhill Observatory. Funded by the Australian Government’s Space Infrastructure Fund, the antenna will further Australia’s space situational awareness capability by monitoring satellites and debris. The antenna will be operated by a University of Tasmania team and is the southernmost antenna of its kind in the world.??

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Russian Satellite Breaks Apart in Orbit:?This week, US Space Force reported that Russian spacecraft?Kosmos 2499 ?broke up in orbit, generating at least 85 pieces of trackable debris 1169 kilometres above Earth. The debris is predicted to take a century or more to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere. It is speculated that Kosmos 2499 was initially developed to test technology that could allow spacecraft to manoeuvre into the orbits of other satellites and potentially disable these satellites. Roscosmos has stated that the purpose of the satellite was to undertake educational research although the exact nature of this research was not specified.??

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Chinese Spy Balloon Over United States:?The US military has destroyed a?Chinese spy balloon ?that was first detected in US national airspace last month. The spy balloon was flying at an altitude almost double the average altitude of a commercial aeroplane and was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean last week. US officials have noted that airship remnants fell into shallow water that allowed from some recovery of debris that could reveal details of China’s surveillance technology.??

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US and India Expand Civil Space Cooperation:?This week,?US and Indian officials ?agreed to increase civil space cooperation in the areas of human spaceflight and rideshare missions. The United States has agreed to train an Indian astronaut at NASA’s Johnson Space Center as part of the country’s Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission. India has previously relied on Russia for astronaut training. The two countries will also cooperate as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, with NASA and ISRO planning to convene a meeting of companies with CLPS contracts with Indian aerospace companies this year.?

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Antarctic Ground Station Construction:?China has announced plans to construct new ground station facilities on the country’s?Antarctic research base ?to support satellite data acquisition. The ground station will be constructed by a subsidiary of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation as part of an ocean observation satellite ground system. The antennas will assist with data acquisition from Chinese satellites in polar and near-polar orbits. The US and Japan already have Antarctic ground stations.??

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US Space Force to Procure Wideband Communications Satellite:?The US Space Force has purchased a geostationary, wideband communications satellite from SIAA member?Boeing , at a cost of $442 million. The satellite will become the 12th in the Wideband Global Satcom constellation that provides communications services to the US military and allies. Boeing plans to deliver the satellite in 2024. This announcement follows news last week that the Space Development Agency is planning a new procurement of 72 satellites to develop a?military constellation ?in low Earth orbit. The first launch of the Tranche 0 satellites in this constellation is scheduled for March.??

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SpaceX:?This week,?SpaceX ?launched a US Space Force payload into orbit as well as a commercial telecommunications satellite built by SIAA member Thales Alenia Space. The Space Force payload, Pathfinder 2 is a high bandwidth protected communications transponder designed to use existing commercial technologies to provide wideband alternatives for Space Force’s satellite communication needs.?

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ULA 1st Vulcan Centaur Rocket Launch:?The United Launch Alliance has assembled its next-generation booster, the?Vulcan Centaur , at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Launch is planned to take place in the next few months following testing of the rocket stages, launch platform and ground systems over the next few weeks.?

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United Nations Open-ended Working Group on Reducing Space Threats:?Last week the UN Open-ended working group on reducing space threats held its third session. Read the Australian working paper submission to the open-ended working group?here .??

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NASA Selects New Chief Astronaut:?NASA has selected veteran astronaut?Joe Acaba ?as chief of the Astonaut Office at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Acaba is a decorated veteran of multiple spaceflights and is the first person of Hispanic heritage to lead the office.??

Job Opportunities

View new job postings on?SIAA’s Southern Space Jobs Board ?to see what job opportunities are available in the space industry. See new jobs from SIAA members?Av-Comm Space & Defence, Equatorial Launch Australia, HEO Robotics and Hypersonix.?

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SIAA members can advertise job positions for free on the Southern Space Jobs board. For more information, please email?[email protected] ???

Industry Opportunities

Registrations Open for the Australian Space Agency Space Regulation Advisory Collective?

The Australian Space Agency is now accepting registrations for the Space Regulation Advisory Collective (SRAC), to be launched this year. The SRAC is a network of non-government space sector representatives and other interested parties established to inform the regulatory function of the Australian Space Agency. Eligible applicants must be Australian, have an active interest in space regulation and not be a government representative.??

Apply for the?SRAC here ?

Austrade Industry Delegation to 38th Space Symposium: Expressions of Interest Open

Austrade are now accepting expressions of interest for an industry delegation to attend the 38th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs. The Symposium will be held on 17-20 April 2023. As part of the industry delegation, Austrade will provide companies with promotion as part of the Australian Pavillion, access to meeting tables, pre-event support and briefings, networking opportunities as well as on-site support during the Symposium.?

Submit an?EOI here. ?EOIs close 10 February.?

Upcoming Events

SIAA Members Strategy Roundtable??

SIAA Corporate and Foundation members are invited to attend SIAA’s Strategy Roundtable on Monday 27th February from 1-3pm in the Melbourne CBD. For more information please email?[email protected] ??

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Southern Space 2023 Dates Announced: 17-18th October?

SIAA will hold its annual Southern Space conference on 17th-18th October at the Hotel Realm, Canberra.??

One Giant Leap Space Education Events?

Following the success of their ‘Space for a Day’ holiday program, SIAA member One Giant Leap will host a range of space education programs. With the support of the NSW Government, One Giant Leap will hold its free Aerospace Camp for young people across regional NSW throughout 2023 and 2024, with camp location details available?here . As part of the four-day camp, participants will undertake immersive and interactive activities focused on STEM and aerospace education, allowing participants to develop team building, creativity and problem-solving skills.

The organisation will also hold its Aerospace Academy one-day school holiday workshops across regional NSW throughout the year, with more details?available here .

One Giant Leap will also hold a series of?STEM Careers Expo ?events to increase the awareness of young people and their families on the career opportunities that exist in STEM industries both in Australia and internationally.??

SIAA Member Profile: Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance ?is an?international?law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with offices and?resources spanning?five continents. The firm works with?clients across commercial and industrial sectors, governments, regulators, trade bodies and not-for-profit organisations. Clifford Chance provides legal expertise to their clients, including advice on a range of critical business issues. The firm’s core areas of focus across Australia include corporate law, banking & finance, litigation & dispute resolution and antitrust & competition.?

In November of last year, Clifford Chance hosted a?webinar ?with?CEO?of Gilmour Space Technologies Adam Gilmour?and space law expert?Deepika Jeyakodi. As part of this webinar, speakers?discussed?space technologies, ‘New Space’?and the future of the space industry. In?this?webinar, Clifford Chance Counsel Julia Dreosti?remarked that “Space is no longer the realm of governments only – although they continue to invest heavily given the current geopolitical climate. It is now also the domain of private companies, which ranges from small start-ups to major multinational enterprises”.??

Header Image Credit: "Webb Unveils Dark Side" (NASA.GOV) (26-01-23)