Southern Space - 26 February

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

Industry News

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IM-1 Mission Successful Landing: Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus robotic lander has made history as the first privately developed spacecraft to safely land on the moon, as well as the first American spacecraft to achieve a lunar landing in over 50 years. The Odysseus Nova-C lander landed on the moon’s south polar regions on Friday 23. The lander is carrying 12 payloads, six of which are NASA scientific instruments.??

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Gilmour Funding Round: SIAA Member Gilmour Space Technologies has announced that the company successfully raised $55 million in a Series D funding round aimed at fuelling four launch attempts of Gilmour’s Eric orbital rocket. The funding round comes ahead of Gilmour’s maiden launch of the Eris rocket from Bowen, North Queensland.??

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iLAuNCH Latest Project: SIAA Member iLAuNCH Trailblazer has announced a project that will utilise additive manufacturing technology to develop large-scale carbon composite structures for rockets. The project is a collaboration with New Frontier Technologies (NFT), as well as the Australian National University’s Australian Advanced Instrumentation Centre (AITC), and the X-ray Computed Tomography laboratory (CTLab).??

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Spire EMSA Contracts: SIAA Member Spire Global has been awarded two contracts by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), amounting to 8.4M euro total. Under the two framework contracts, Spire will continue to deliver global and real-time satellite AIS data for vessel tracking.?

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Qantas International Flights to be Fitted with Viasat Wi-Fi: Qantas has announced that the company will begin delivering Wi-Fi on international flights from late this year, facilitated by SIAA Member Viasat. This will coincide with the launch of a new satellite covering the South-East Asia region.??

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Rocket Lab Orbital Debris Mission: Rocket Lab has successfully launched the ‘On Closer Inspection’ mission. Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket took off from Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand, deploying the Active Debris Removal (ADRAS-J) satellite by Astroscale-Japan. The ADRAS-J satellite is designed to investigate technologies and operations for monitoring and removing debris objects, or space junk, in orbit.??

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Fastest Growing Black Hole Discovered: A team of researchers at the Australian National University (ANU) have discovered the fastest-growing black hole recorded in human history using a 2.3-metre telescope ANU Siding Spring Observatory near Coonabarabran, NSW.??

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Japan H3 Launch: The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA ) announced that the H3 rocket successfully launched into orbit. The rocket took off from Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan on 17 February. The H3 spacecraft was developed jointly by JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as the successor to H-IIA launch system.??

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SpaceX Launches Indonesian Satellite: SpaceX successfully launched and deployed the Merah Putih 2 satellite aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida on February 22. The satellite, built by Thales Alenia Space, will enhance broadband internet access across Indonesia.??

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ANT61 Frond Space Systems MoU: Sydney-based space company ANT61 has signed an MoU to advance space technology with Frond Space Systems, an Auckland-based company specialising in satellite end-of-life solutions.??

Industry Opportunities?

UNSW Canberra Space Operations Course 13 - 15 March 2024?

UNSW Canberra has announced the University’s upcoming ‘Space Operations Course’, taking place from 13-15 March.??

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. Whether you work in a space-adjacent area, or just have a keen personal interest in space, the course will provide valuable insights into current technologies and capabilities in space security, operations, mission design and analysis, and more.?

See here for more details. ??

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SIAA Members 2024 US Industry Study Tour – Programme Outline Released??

In support of the Australian space industry's engagement with the US space sector, SIAA will be hosting its second 2024 US Industry Study Tour in April. The Industry Study Tour will be held at the beginning of April, the week before the 39th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs. During the Industry Study Tour SIAA members that are participating will travel to select states in the US for a programme of space company tours, meetings with representatives from the US space industry and government, and networking events with US space industry.??

To receive a copy of the Tour Outline or register to participate in the SIAA US Industry Study Tour please email. [email protected] ?

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]

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Header Image Credit:?Malinche Volcano, Mexico (NASA, ISS, 29-10-13)