Southern Space - 17 February

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

Industry News

NASA Deputy Administrator Calls on Australia to Prioritise?Space:?NASA Deputy Administrator?Pamela Melroy ?has remarked that international competition in the space domain requires rapid space technology development from Australia to facilitate US-Australian space cooperation. Melroy noted that the development of space technology “doesn’t happen overnight. It takes sustained investment, which is why it’s really important that a country treats it as a strategic priority”.?

Satellite-based Augmentation Systems and SouthPAN:?Listen to SIAA Foundation member?Lockheed Martin Australia’s ?Regional Director for Space David Ball and Geoscience Australia’s Head of Space Division Dr Martine Woolf in this week’s Space Connect Podcast. The speakers discussed the critical role of Satellite-based Augmentation Systems for civilian infrastructure and primary industries and the role of Lockheed Martin Australia and Geoscience Australia in supporting the Australian space industry.?

India:?NewSpace India Limited, the commercial arm of the?Indian Space Research Organisation , has successfully launched its Small Satellite Launch Vehicle this week. The 34-metre rocket carried an ISRO Earth Observation satellite, a Janus 16-U cubesat for Antaris and an 8U cubesat developed by Indian students. Integrated into the Antaris satellite was?Australian company AICRAFT’s ?Pulsar device, which uses artificial intelligence to conduct in orbit data processing.?

Amazon Project Kuiper Constellation:?The Federal Communications Commission has?approved ?Amazon’s plan to deploy and operate over 3000 broadband satellites in LEO, subject to the inclusion of collision avoidance measures. Kuiper is further required to provide the FCC with semi-annual reports detailing whether the company has lost the ability to steer any of the broadband satellites, as well as report on other debris risk indicators. Amazon has secured up to 92 launches with ULA, Arianespace and Blue Origin to launch the Project Kuiper into LEO.?

Russian Postpones Rescue Ship Launch:?Russia has?delayed ?the launch of the next Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station to March. The MS-23 spacecraft will be launched uncrewed to replace the unfit Soyuz M-22 spacecraft which was impacted by a meteoroid in December. The meteoroid impact caused a leak in the coolant system, with the exact cause of the leak currently being investigated by Roscosmos. Roscosmos delayed?the launch of the replacement spacecraft due to the news that another Russian spacecraft docked at the ISS, the Progress MS-21, also has a leak in its coolant system.?Roscosmos has released the?first public images ?of the damaged MS-22 Soyuz spacecraft docked at the ISS.?

Blue Origin Awarded NASA Mars Mission:?NASA has selected?Blue Origin ?to launch the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers mission (ESCAPADE), on the company’s New Glenn rocket. This mission will study the planet’s magnetosphere using two small spacecraft to provide simultaneous two-point observations. The ESCAPADE mission is planned to launch in late 2024.?

Saudi Arabia:?Saudi Arabia will send its?first woman astronaut ?to space as part of Axiom Space’s second private astronaut mission. The four-person Ax-2 crew will launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and?undertake a?10-day?mission to the International Space Station. This is the first private mission to include both private astronauts and astronauts representing countries, with two astronauts representing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as mission specialists, one former NASA astronaut commanding the mission and an American businessman acting as pilot.?

Virgin Orbit:?The company has determined that the failure of its?“Start Me Up” ?mission, the first orbital launch attempt from the UK, failed due to a misaligned fuel filter in the rocket’s second stage.?

SpaceX:?SpaceX has successfully completed its?10th launch ?for 2023, launching 55 Starlink satellites onboard a Falcon 9 rocket on 11 February.?

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 Southern Launch and Shoal Group.?

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

Industry Opportunities

ANU InSpace National Space Qualification Network Workshop?

Join SIAA Member ANU InSpace on 15-16 March?for an exclusive two-day industry?workshop?and tour of our state-of-the-art space testing facilities at ANU, including the Heavy Ion Accelerator Facility (HIAF) and the the Advanced Instrumentation and Technology Centre (AITC) at Mt Stromlo. We will discuss key topics such as design for the space environment, test specifications and workflows, environmental testing and qualification. Anything flown in space requires the highest level of reliability for mission success in extreme environments. With the National Space Qualification Network (NSQN), you can boost space mission assurance and success through rigorous testing and qualification right here in Australia.?

Learn what the?NSQN?can do for you and begin preparing your products for a successful launch. Register for the?NSQN workshop here .?

WA Innovation Booster Grant Applications Open?

The Western Australian Government’s Innovation Booster grant provides grant funding to Western Australian-based start-ups and small businesses to assist with technology commercialisation. This year the maximum grant amount has doubled to $40,000, with recipients no longer needing to match 50% of grant funding upfront.?

Apply for theWA Innovation Booster Grant here .?

Cicada Elevate Brisbane: Applications Open Now?

SIAA member Cicada Innovations has opened applications for its Space Elevate course to be held in Brisbane on 22-23 March. Designed for Australian researchers, engineers, and entrepreneurs with solutions that have the potential to become impactful space businesses, the workshop offers a forum to develop space tech ideas with personalised advice and feedback. Participants work alongside other space innovators, hear real examples and gain access to Cicada’s national network of space tech mentors.?

Applications close 28 February.?Apply here .

SIAA Member Profile: Gunggandji Aerospace

Gunggandji Aerospace is a national professional services company founded in 2021 with a mission to create non-traditional pathways for Indigenous Australians and Defence Force Veterans into the aerospace domain and emerging industries. The 100% Indigenous-owned organisation aims to inspire and enable these communities to pursue careers in emerging industries and support a resilient and robust sovereign capability.??

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Since its inception in 2021, Gunggandji Aerospace:?

• Has placed two First Nations trainees within a Defence Prime
• Worked Closely with Boeing Defence Australia on a number of Aerospace Programs?
• Is supporting Air Force Headquarters, Army, Navy and Air Force Force Element Groups transition to regulated aerodromes that are compliant with DASR. 139.?
• Is providing technical program management services to Space Command
• Is providing technical project management services to the AIR5431 Ph3 program?

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Plans are in place to further advance the company’s mission by expanding the traineeship program in the next quarter.?

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Our core skill set includes:?

• Remote, Domestic and International Program and Project Management?
• Identifying unique opportunities for non-traditional pathways in technically complex programs (including High Security);?
• Complex Stakeholder Engagement, Management and Integration. (Example: First Nations, Government, Defence, High Security or Scientific / Technical)??

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To find out more about Gunggandji Aerospace, visit their newly launched?website here .???

Follow Gunggandji Aerospace on?LinkedIn ?

Connect with Daniel Joinbee, Managing Director of Gunggandji Aerospace on?LinkedIn ?

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Header Image Credit: "Space Station Swings by Kennedy" (NASA.GOV) (08-04-22)