Southern Space - 2 June

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

Industry News

Viasat Finalises the Acquisition of?Inmarsat: This week, SIAA Foundation Member Viasat?successfully completed its?acquisition of SIAA Member Inmarsat after clearing all regulatory approvals and reviews. Regulators concluded that the merger would still face sufficient competition from other market actors and entrants. The combined group headquarters will be based in?Carlsbad, California. Viasat’s press release?confirms the acquisition will enable the companies "to bring together spectrum, satellite, and terrestrial assets, including 19 satellites in space spanning Ka-, L- and S- bands. These complementary assets are expected to deliver connectivity and key safety services across maritime, aviation, government and consumer markets with speed and reliability of connection front of mind”.?

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Inmarsat Secured Contract for New SouthPAN Satellite: SIAA Member Inmarsat has won an AUD$187.4 million contract from the Australian and New Zealand governments for a new SouthPAN satellite service on an Inmarsat I-8 satellite. SouthPAN signals will be broadcasted from the I-8 satellite from 2027, improving positional accuracy to ‘as little as 10cm’. Chief of Space Division at Geoscience Australia, Alison Rose, noted that the new service?“will bring widespread benefits and an AUD$6.2 billion economic injection to Australia alone”.?

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Rocket Lab Launches NASA Weather Satellites: SIAA Member Rocket Lab has successfully launched the second pair of NASA TROPICS CubeSats from the company’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand.?The TROPICS CubeSats will gather data on tropical storms, with Rocket Lab previously launching the first pair of TROPICS satellites earlier this month.? ?

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BAE Systems Awarded DARPA Contract: SIAA Member BAE Systems’ FAST Labs research and development organisation?has been awarded a $7 million contract from the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop autonomous space-based surveillance technology. The program intends to enhance and modernise?the tactical relevance of US space systems by developing satellite constellations with heightened on-orbit ISR capabilities. ?

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Northrop Grumman Awarded US Space Force Contract: SIAA Foundation Member Northrop Grumman has won a $45 million contract from the US Space Force to launch a small weather satellite. Northrop will launch the Electro-Optical Infrared System Weather System prototype aboard a Minotaur 4 rocket in 2025. The prototype, created by General Atomics,?will showcase commercial weather imaging capabilities for military use in a three-year demonstration. ?

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Space Solar Power Demonstrator Wirelessly Transmits Power in Space: The California Institute of Technology’s Space Solar Power Project (SSPP) has demonstrated a world-first capability to wirelessly transmit power in space and beam detectable power back to Earth. One of the three key experiments within SSPP-1, titled MAPLE, utilises an array of flexible lightweight power transmitters to harvest solar power and beam energy to desired locations. The prototype was launched into space in January and confirmed on Thursday that MAPLE can successfully transmit power to receivers in space. SSPP eventually aims to deploy and constellation of modular spacecraft to collect sunlight, transform it into electricity, and then converted to wireless microwaves that can transfer power over long distances, thus ‘democratising’ access to energy. ?

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New Zealand National Space Strategy: This week, New Zealand released its first National Space Strategy. The strategy outlines New Zealand’s values and objectives on space and informs the New Zealand government’s approach to space policies, strategies and engagements. ?

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US Space Force Satellite Launch: The US Space Development Agency is slated to launch 13 satellites later this month, marking the second launch of the agency’s Tranche 0 satellites in its proliferated LEO constellation. The launch is scheduled to occur on a SpaceX Falcon9 rocket, launching 11 communication satellites in total, 10 of which were manufactured by Lockheed Martin and one by York Space, as well as two missile-tracking satellites manufactured by SpaceX. Once all Tranche 0 satellites have been deployed, the SDA plans to launch further satellites in monthly intervals in late 2024 beginning with Tranche 1. ?

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China: This week the Chinese National Space Agency successfully launched?a crew of three astronauts to the Tiangong space station aboard a Long March 2F rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert. The astronauts will spend six months at the Tiangong space station on a Shenzhou 16 spacecraft. The mission marks the fifth successful launch of astronauts to the station and China’s first civilian astronaut to fly in space, with the China National Space Administration declaring the launch “a complete success.”.?

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North Korea: North Korea announced the failed launch of a?spy satellite after a second-stage malfunction of the carrier Chollima-1 rocket caused the satellite to crash into the Pacific Ocean, approximately 200km west of Eocheong island, South Korea. The Malligyong-1 satellite was North Korea’s first spy satellite, intended for Earth-observation and intelligence capabilities. The failed launch received international condemnation, as the launch directly violates UN Security Council Resolutions on North Korea, which ban the state from any launches based on ballistic technology. ?

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Spain Signs Artemis Accords: Earlier this week, Spain became the 25th nation to sign NASA’s Artemis Accords. The agreement was signed during a ceremony at Moncloa Palace, Madrid, with NASA administrator Bill Nelson, Spanish President Pedro Sanchez, and Spain’s minister for science and innovation Diana Morant, among other officials. Spain’s signing of the Accords follows Spanish President Sanchez’s?state visit to the White House several weeks ago, where he and US President Biden agreed to further cooperation between the nations in science and technology. ?

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Space X Launch for Saudi Arabia’s Arabsat: This week SpaceX successfully launched an Arabsat BADR-8 satellite for Saudi Arabia aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. The launch took place on Saturday, May 27 from Cape Canaveral Space Station, Florida and marks SpaceX’s 195th successful landing. The satellite will take four-five months to reach operational orbit, upon which it will broadcast television and other telecom services to central Africa, Europe and the Middle East.?

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UAE: New details have been released on the UAE’s asteroid belt mission slated for launch to space in 2030, and a planned landing in 2034. The ‘Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt’ (EMA) will visit several asteroids, including the asteroid Justitia where it intends to land in 2034. A lander will deploy from the MBR Explorer spacecraft and collect organic molecules to better understand life on Earth.?

Industry Opportunities

SPACETIDE’s S-Booster 2023 Program – Applications Open Now?

The S-Booster program is a space-focused business ideas contest, hosted by?SPACETIDE, encouraging applications from new space ventures, innovators and established businesses in Japan and the greater Oceania region.?

The Program supports the transformation of innovative concepts into fully realised and commercially viable ventures. With the support of industry experts,?applicants will receive guidance throughout the complete commercialisation process. As part of the Program, participants have the opportunity to win cash prizes, providing a?tangible incentive to help address real space challenges whilst simultaneously transforming ideas and innovations into genuine commercial ventures.?

Applications close June 12. Apply here?

Job Opportunities

View new job postings on?SIAA’s Southern Space Jobs Board?to see what job opportunities are available in the space industry, including new job postings from SIAA Foundation member Northrop Grumman Australia, and SIAA member Nova Systems ANZ.

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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]??

SIAA Member Profile: Northrop Grumman Australia?

Northrop Grumman Australia is a defence and space company that operates across space, aeronautics, cyberspace and defence industries. With over 60 years of space heritage, the company has over 800 employees based in its 11 sites of operation across the country.? ?

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Northrop Grumman Australia’s domestic capabilities span multiple domains, from sustainment and modernisation to integrated systems, secure network solutions, and defence. The company has an established relationship with the Australian Government, including a strategic partnership with the Australian Defence Force of over 20 years, alongside work with academia and leading small and medium-sized businesses across industry. Northrop Grumman Australia’s capabilities in the space sector include operating as the prime system integrator on the government’s Joint Project 2008 Phase 5B2. The project provides the Satellite Communications Ground Station-East and wideband satellite communications Network Management System for the Australian Defence Force. ?

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In November 2022, Northrop signed a six-year agreement with SIAA member Quickstep Holdings Ltd under an existing MoU. The agreement pertains to the supply of components from Quickstep to support Northrop’s global aerospace program.???

Header Image Credit- Honduras From Space (NASA, ISS, 03-24-13) Image Credit – NASA?

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