Southern Space - 23 June

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

Industry News

CGI Australia Expands into Space, Defence and Intelligence: SIAA Member CGI Australia has expanded the company’s operations to include a Space, Defence and Intelligence team. In a recent press release, the company stated their intention to “increase sovereign delivery capacity in both space and defence through diversification and holistic ecosystem management”. As part of CGI’s expansion in Australia, the company is now recruiting several Australian roles to help build CGI’s Australian delivery capability. ?

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Australian Navy Satellite Communications Systems Upgrade: EM Solutions , a subsidiary of SIAA Member EOS Space Systems, has been selected by the Commonwealth’s Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group (CASG) to upgrade the Royal Australian Navy’s SATCOM systems. The acquisition is currently valued at approximately $150m over the next seven years, constituting the largest contract ever signed by EM Solutions. The agreement aims to modernise the Primary and Alternate SATCOM across an existing fleet of vessels using EM Solutions’ King Cobra and Cobra SATCOM terminals.?

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Construction Begins on the Southern Positioning Augmentation Network: SIAA Foundation Member Lockheed Martin Australia has commenced?construction of the Southern Positioning Augmentation Network's (SouthPAN) first satellite dish in regional NSW. Lockheed Martin Australia has partnered with SIAA member?Av-Comm Space & Defence to develop this network, with the Minister for Resources and the Minister for Northern Australia commenting that “having infrastructure solely dedicated to SouthPAN will provide important redundancy and resilience, which industry expect from accurate positioning services.” SouthPAN will provide more reliable and accurate satellite positioning services in real-time, offering enhanced positioning data that will benefit the agriculture, construction and transport industries.?

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Rocket Lab HASTE Launch:?This week, SIAA Member Rocket Lab successfully launched?the first suborbital variant of the company’s Electron vehicle, HASTE. The Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron (HASTE)?launched from NASA Facilities at Wallops Island, Virginia, with Rocket Lab declaring the mission a success an hour after the launch. Details such as peak altitude, speed and the payload on HASTE have not been publicly disclosed by the company. This event marks Rocket Lab’s sixth Electron launch of 2023.?

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Telstra Finalises OneWeb Agreement to Extend Remote Services: This week, Telstra finalised a deal with satellite communications company OneWeb to use the company’s LEO satellites to expand Telstra’s coverage in remote and regional Australia. Telstra will begin transferring existing mobile base stations to OneWeb services later this year through a process of ‘satellite backhaul’, with data from remote areas transferred to a central hub to expand coverage. Telstra has stated that the agreement will deliver an extra 100,000 sq. km of mobile coverage by mid-2025. The update will also reportedly boost speeds up to 100mbps in remote areas. ?

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JAXA: The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have announced their intentions to land a Martian Moons Exploration (MMX) capsule in Woomera at the end of the decade. JAXA intends to collaborate with Australia as part of the Agency’s MMX mission to explore the Martian moons Phobos and Deimos. During the 15th Andy Thomas Space Forum, JAXA Administrator Hiroshi Yamakawa said JAXA was excited to collaborate with Australia, with the intention to land samples collected from the MMX mission in Woomera. The MMX mission is currently slated to launch in 2024, with a planned landing in 2029.?

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WEF Releases Guidelines on Reducing Debris: The World Economic Forum has released a new set of guidelines on debris mitigation. The ‘Space Industry Debris Mitigation Recommendations’ outline measures to avoid collisions in space that create debris. Suggestions include limiting the lifetime of satellites in orbit upon mission completion, and recommendations to improve coordination between satellite operators. 27 companies have endorsed the document during its release, including OneWeb and SIAA Member Spire Global. Companies such as SpaceX and Amazon have yet to sign the guidelines. ?

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SES Delivers Satellite Connectivity to AWS: SES?Space and Defence?has announced the delivery of flexible and secure satellite-powered network connectivity for SIAA member Amazon Web Services’ ?Modular?Data?Centers.?As part of a contract between AWS and?the US Department of Defence, defence?customers can access low-latency,?cloud-based?applications?and?services?in?disrupted?environments?through a networked connection to AWS regions that is enhanced by SES’s multi-orbit, multi-band global satellites with AWS Modular Data Center.?

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SpaceX: This week, SpaceX launched a communication satellite aboard a Falcon 9 rocket to provide internet services to rural Indonesia. The PSN SATRIA mission will place the SATRIA satellite in geosynchronous orbit. Once operational, the satellite will provide connectivity to health and education centres, as well as public Wi-Fi access points in regions previously without internet services.?

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Intelsat to Extend Satellite Lifespan: Intelsat has ordered a second Mission Extension Pod (MEP) from Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Space Logistics. The MEP will extend the lifespan of an Intelsat satellite, providing uninterrupted services to customers and an extension of services for at least six years beginning in 2026. This contract forms the fourth deal between Intelsat and Space Logistics, with two Mission Extension Vehicles already in service.

Industry Opportunities??

UNSW Canberra Space Operations Course?

Wednesday 19 July – Friday 21 July 2023?

Exploring the basic underlying concepts of the physics of space and the complexities of space operations, the Space Operations Overview short course is perfect for learners looking to build on their knowledge of space and space technologies. This course is suitable for individuals working in a space-adjacent area or with?a keen personal interest in space and provides?valuable insights into current technologies and capabilities in space security, operations, mission design and analysis, and much more.?

Find out more here ??

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Earth Observation Australia Survey - Risks to Supply of Satellite Earth Observation (EO) Data to the Australian EO Community – Survey?

Earth Observation Australia?(EOA) in collaboration with Geoscience Australia, Symbios Communications and the University of Queensland is seeking to provide an update to previous landmark reports about the continuity of Earth observation (EO) data supply for Australian users. The new report, scheduled for public release in mid-December 2023, will detail existing EO entities, capabilities, uses, needs, and applications of government, industry, and research in Australia. EOA?is seeking industry input to the project via a short 5–10-minute survey.?

Submissions close 11pm AEST Sunday 2 July 2023.?

Find out more and complete the survey here. ?

Australian Space Industry Capability Database Information Webinar

The Space Industry Association of Australia (SIAA) is pleased to announce that the Australian Space Industry Capability Database will launch to all users from mid-July 2023.???

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SIAA will host a webinar on Wednesday 12 July to demonstrate the database to the sector prior to the public launch.??

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The first information webinar session will be held from 10am-11am AEST, with an additional webinar held from 2pm-3pm AEST.?

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To register your interest in attending the webinar please email [email protected] and specify the webinar you would like to attend.?

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 Quickstep Technologies, Inovor Technologies, Shoal, Thales, Av-Comm Space & Defence and HEO Robotics.?

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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] ??

Header Image Credit:?Archive- Alluvial Fans in Algeria (NASA.GOV, ISS, 01-23-09) ?

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