Southern Space - 20 June

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

Industry News

SpaceX Fourth Test Flight:? SpaceX has successfully conducted the fourth test flight of the company’s Starship spacecraft. The spacecraft lifted off early on June 6th from SpaceX’s Starbase test site in Boca Chica, Texas. Both the Super Heavy booster and upper stage returned intact upon reentry during this test flight, with Starship achieving its planned suborbital trajectory and landing in the Gulf of Mexico.??

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Starliner Crewed Test Flight: Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft launched on June 5 in a successful crewed test flight. The spacecraft launched aboard a ULA Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral early on Wednesday morning. Boeing and NASA confirmed that the Starliner spacecraft docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on June 6, with two NASA astronauts on board.??

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ELA New Appointment: SIAA Foundation Member Equatorial Launch Australia (ELA ) has appointed Joshua Daish as the new Head of Arnhem Space Centre Site Operations. Mr Daish is an ex-RAAF Air Operations Officer and Airspace Control Team Lead, and he will also take up ELA’s Launch Operations Manager role in the company’s Launch Operations team.?

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Southern Launch HyImpulse MoU: German space launch company HyImpulse and SIAA Member Southern Launch have signed an MoU for further missions from the Koonibba Test Range, and to explore the use of Southern Launch’s Whalers Way Orbital Launch Complex for future launches of HyImpulse’s SL1 orbital vehicle. The MoU follows the successful maiden launch of HyImpulse’s SR75 rocket from the Koonibba Test Range on 3 May.?

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iLAuNCH Advisory Board: SIAA Member iLAuNCH Trailblazer has appointed an Industry Advisory Panel to provide advice on strategy and direction within the global space industry. iLAuNCH appointed five new members to the panel: Dr Kimberley Clayfield, Lieutenant General?Larry James (USAF Ret), Clive Oates, Dr Tim Parsons and Eva Rodriguez Rodriguez.??

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CGI ESA Commission: SIAA Member CGI has been commissioned by the European Space Agency (ESA) on a project to develop standardized satellite communications interfaces. This project will aim to optimize resource usage, expand the market and develop long-term cooperation within the European satellite communications industry. The first open-source interface is now publicly available.??

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Rocket Lab PREFIRE Launch: SIAA Member Rocket Lab launched the first of two NASA Earth science CubeSats on May 25. Following launch from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand, the Electron rocket placed the 6U CubeSat into sun-synchronous orbit. The CubeSat is part of NASA’s Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment (PREFIRE) mission.?

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Blacksky Contract Renewal: SIAA Member Blacksky Technology has secured a $7 million USD contract renewal to provide space-based imagery and analytics monitoring services to an established international government customer. Under the contract, the client will utilize BlackSky’s Spectra tasking and analytics platform.?

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BAE Systems NOAA Contract: The U.S. National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has selected SIAA Member BAE Systems to build a hyperspectral imager for the NOAA’s next-generation weather and climate constellation, GeoXO. The imager that will be developed to monitor the Great Lakes and US coastal regions. BAE Systems is now contracted to provide all three hyperspectral instruments for the GeoXO program.?

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Thales Alenia and The Exploration Company ESA Development Contract:?Thales Alenia Space, and the Exploration Company have each been awarded €25M by the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop uncrewed cargo capsules for transportation to LEO. Should the designs prove operational, ESA is planned for demonstration flights to the ISS in 2028, and operational missions beginning by 2030.???

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National Robotics Strategy: Robotics Australia Group has welcomed the release of Australia's first National Robotics Strategy by Minister for Industry and Science, Ed Husic. The strategy aims to scale-up the country's robotics and automation capabilities and is aligned with the Robotics Growth Partnership between Robotics Australia Group, AiGroup and Cicada Innovations also announced on 28 May.?

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Australian Bushfire Detection Project: Australian researchers part of a project led by the University of South Australia, and funded by SmartSatCRC, have developed a new bushfire-detection technique capable of detecting bushfires from space ‘500 times faster’ than traditional on-ground sensing. The project utilises AI onboard CubeSats and will eventually be used on the upcoming Kanyini mission.?

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South Korean Space Agency Opens: South Korea has launched the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) , the nation’s official space agency. KASA is based in Sacheon, approximately 300 km south of Seoul. The agency's workforce will be filled in phases. Chief of KASA, Yoon Young-bin, remarked that “the establishment of KASA will be a milestone for Korea becoming a powerhouse in the space economy by helping create a private-led space industry ecosystem."?

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China: The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has confirmed that the Chang'e-6 lunar probe successfully landed on the far side of the Moon, in the South Pole-Aitken Basin, on June 2. The probe was launched from Earth on May 3 and will now attempt to collect samples, namely lunar soil and rocks, while also carrying out experiments in the landing zone.?China also launched a communication satellite for Pakistan on May 30 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. The PakSat MM1 satellite lifted off aboard a Long March 3B rocket and was soon placed into a geosynchronous orbit.??

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India: Agnikul Cosmos , an Indian space start-up, successfully launched India’s first 3D-printed rocket engine on Thursday May 30. The Agnibaan Sorted mission was also India’s second private rocket launch and the first to demonstrate the use of a semi-cryogenic engine.?

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Russia: A Russian Soyuz spacecraft has been launched into orbit on a resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS), carrying roughly three tons of cargo supplies. The Progress 88 spacecraft was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on May 30.?

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Artemis Accords: Slovakia and Peru and become signatories to NASA’s Artemis Accords. Both countries signed on May 30, in separate ceremonies hosted at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC.?Armenia also recently signed onto the Accords, bringing the total number of signatories to 43. ?

Industry Opportunities

Space Tour USA 2024 Scholarship Opportunity?

SIAA Member One Giant Leap Australia Foundation and SIAA Member Electro Optic Systems (EOS) are offering three high school students the opportunity to receive a partial scholarship, valued at $5000, to attend Space Tour USA 2024.?

The tour will see high school students travel to Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama, from 29 October to 10 November 2024. One Giant Leap Australia has provided tours to Space Camp since 2015 and the space education organisation is excited to return.?

Applications close 21 June 2024. See here for more.?

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Lunar Technology Request for Information (RFI)?

Lunar Dawn, led by Lunar Outpost, has been awarded a NASA Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services contract and is surveying the Australian Space Industry for potential commercial payloads to operate on the lunar surface by 2029, and for lunar technology that could enhance the capabilities of the Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) Rover or Ground/Mission Operations segment.?

The LTV is a versatile rover designed to enhance lunar exploration by Artemis astronauts. It will operate both as a crew-driven vehicle and an uncrewed mobile science platform, facilitating extensive scientific research and exploration even when astronauts are not present. Lunar Dawn is one of three teams competing on the LTV contract.?

See the hyperlink to access the RFI and submit your response: LTV RFI ?

Responses close on 28 June 2024.?

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Opportunity for Students: Natural Hazards Research Australia Disaster Challenge 2024?

Hosted by Natural Hazards Research Australia with support from universities and emergency management organisations, the Disaster Challenge is a national challenge to encourage new ideas, new thinking and new research. The Challenge is designed for early career researchers, postgraduate and undergraduate students across Australia to make a difference with innovative ideas and solutions for the wicked problems the country faces with natural hazards.?

The Challenge will take place in three phases. The first phase is to enter your concept by 7 July. The judges will then review and select the best entries for the Disaster Challenge Final using the judging criteria. Up to three finalists will be selected.?

See here for more details .??

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France Upcoming Space Events:?

Please see below a list of upcoming space industry events in Toulouse, France for the remainder of 2024:?

June 10 - 7th Workshop on Debris Modeling & Remediation CNES ??

June 11-12 - Embedded Real Time Systems Conference ??

June 18-20 - SpaceOps by CNES at Cité de l’Espace ?

?June 23-28 - International Electric Propulsion Conference ??

Sept 10-11 - Aerospace Testing ??

Nov 26 – European Airports ?

Dec 3-5 - Aeromart ?

Upcoming?SIAA Industry?Study?Tours

INDIA Industry Study Tour?

Dates: 23-26 September?

Location: Bengaluru, Hyderabad?

The SIAA India Industry Study Tour will engage with Indian space companies and key government representatives across the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and INSPACE. The study tour will be held the week after the Bengaluru Space Expo 2024 (18-20 September), allowing members the opportunity to attend BSX 2024 and then join the Industry Study Tour to further industry connections. The Indian space sector offers a wealth of opportunities for the Australian space sector as both a key partner for Australian space industry as well as a customer of Australian space capability across the supply chain. The 2023 Indian Space Policy in combination with changes to India’s Foreign Direct Investment policy unlocks new opportunities for the international space sector, bolstered by India’s ambitions as a key space-faring nation.?

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SIAA industry association partner, SIA-India will support the delivery of the SIAA India Industry Study Tour, drawing on their industry connections and expertise to develop a comprehensive program to foster meaningful partnership opportunities between the Australian and Indian space sectors.?

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EOI to Participate in the SIAA India Industry Study Tour? ?

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ITALY Industry Study Tour?

Dates: 21-24 October?

Locations: Milan, Rome, Northern Italy?

The SIAA Italy Industry Study tour will be held the week after IAC 2024 Milan (14-18 October) and offers SIAA members and members of the space sector the opportunity to engage with the Italian Space Agency, the Italian Trade Agency, Italian space primes and startups, and relevant government departments to explore collaboration opportunities. This study tour will build on previous space industry initiatives to explore potential collaboration opportunities between the Italian and Australian space ecosystems, including an industry webinar jointly hosted by the Space Industry Association of Australia, the Australian Space Agency, Investment NSW in partnership with the Italian Trade Agency and Italian Space Agency. Watch the webinar here .??

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SIAA is working with the Italian Space Agency to support the delivery of the SIAA Italy Industry Study Tour.?

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EOI to Participate in the SIAA Italy Industry Study Tour ?

Please email [email protected] if you would like to receive further information about one or more of SIAA’s planned Industry Study Tours. To assist the team please specify which tour/s you would like more information on.?

Job Opportunities

View new job postings on SIAA’s Southern Space Jobs Board to see what job opportunities are available in the space industry.

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

SIAA Member Profile: Capricorn Space ?

Capricorn Space is an established Australian owned and operated satellite ground station services provider to the NewSpace and Legacy markets in support for LEO, MEO and GEO missions and beyond.? Its first site near Mingenew, Western Australia, is strategically positioned below the Asian corridor and borders the expansive Indian Ocean region, plus benefits from operating within an ACMA Earth Station Protection Zone (Embargo 49) – ensuring clients operate without terrestrial interference and can promptly secure their vital radio-spectrum licences.? A second site in eastern Australia is planned for 2025 and expressions of interest are welcomed.?

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Capricorn Space has attracted many high-profile clients from across the globe and within Australia thanks to its ability to support clients with airtime on its S/X-Band antennas as well as host third-party client antennas; its strong focus on 24/7 client support; and its high-availability power and communications infrastructure.? Per Capricorn Space’s mantra: We’ll get you up and running, in no time…for a long time!?

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Header Image Credit:?Eruption Plume, Kliuchevskoi Volcano, Russia (NASA, ISS, 16-11-13)