Southern Space - 27 May 2022

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

CEO Update

Following the election of a new Australian Federal Government, this week has already seen new developments for the national space industry. The Quad leader’s summit in Tokyo earlier this week featured the announcement of a new ‘Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness’. The initiative will use surveillance satellites to respond to humanitarian and natural disasters, curb illegal fishing and reduce maritime crime. Combining recent satellite technology with surveillance hubs in India, the Pacific and Singapore, surveillance satellites will have the capacity to track vessels concealing or incorrectly reporting their position. The Quad leaders joint statement noted that the Quad ‘strongly oppose any coercive, provocative or unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo and increase tensions in the area’. 

It remains unclear who will be the new Federal Minister overseeing the Australian space portfolio. A recently published McKinsey & Company report noted that in 2019 the global space economy accounted for $250 billion in real GDP output. The report further noted the changing role of government from a driver of development to a customer acting in partnership with industry. With the scale of the national space industry set to grow in the next few years, it is clear that the incumbent government must prioritise growing national space capability, fostering innovation and industry development whilst minimising regulation that could slow industry growth. The Prime Minister has proposed a $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund, including $1 billion for an Advanced Manufacturing Investment Fund, but has not yet made any funding announcements directly towards the space sector. SIAA is assisting the Australian Space Agency in the development of the national Space Strategic Update and will advocate for the concerns of its members to ensure the industry continues to grow.  

Next month, SIAA member Equatorial Launch Australia will host the first ever Australian commercial space launch from its Arnhem Space Centre in the Northern Territory. This will be the first of three NASA sounding rocket launches that will occur over the next two months.  

Industry News

Moon to Mars Grant: Six Australian space companies have received just under $5.5 million under the latest round of the Moon to Mars Supply Chain Capability Improvement grants. SIAA member Southern Launch has been awarded a grant of almost $1 million, allowing the company to design, construct and commission a mobile launch rail capable of launching vehicles up to 3500 kg. The launch rail will be utilised at both of Southern Launch’s spaceports, the Kooniba Test Range and the Whaler Way Orbital Complex. SIAA member Skykraft has also received just under $1 million to upgrade the pointing accuracy of its proprietary Attitude Determination and Control System.  

In-Space Manufacturing: SIAA member Rocket Lab has expanded its procurement deal with Varda Space Industries to procure four Photon spacecrafts. Varda, an in-space manufacturing and hypersonic Earth re-entry logistics company will use the Photon spacecrafts to provide its manufacturing satellite with power, communications, propulsion and attitude control as well as using the Photon spacecraft to return the manufactured products to Earth. 

US Increases International Space Cooperation in Asia: The US has committed to expanding space cooperation with Japan in a summit earlier this week. Part of the Artemis program, the US has announced plans to include a Japanese astronaut on human lunar surface missions. This supports the Japanese Prime Minister’s goal of having a Japanese astronaut as first non-American involved in a lunar landing, with both countries planning to sign an implementation agreement later this year. The US has further committed to expanding space-related cooperation with South Korea, and plan to hold working-level dialogues by the end of 2022. 

Surveillance Microsatellites: Kongsberg Defence has ordered three microsatellites to provide space-based maritime surveillance of the North Sea. The surveillance satellites will use navigation detection radar to track the movement of vessels in the North Sea, including vessels concealing or incorrectly reporting their position.  

Commercial Space Domain Awareness: SIAA member LeoLabs has announced an award to provide data and services to the Japan Air Self Defense Force, allowing the Defense Force to track satellites and orbital debris through data generated by LeoLabs phased array radars.  

Launch: Fleet Space Technologies successfully launched its next-generation Centauri 5 Satellite on the SpaceX rideshare mission this week. The 6U sized microsat will be placed in LEO increasing the capacity of the existing Centauri constellation Fleet operates in partnership with Tyvak International.  

Laser Communication from LEO to Earth: NASA has launched its TeraByte InfraRed Delivery (TBIRD) system on SpaceX’s rideshare mission this week. The system will use laser communications to downlink to the ground station, providing NASA with faster data transmission and access to more data in a single transmission than is possible with radio frequency.  

Data Storage in Space: SIAA member Lockheed Martin is working in partnership with blockchain-based cryptocurrency and digital payment company Filecoin Foundation to demonstrate a blockchain network in space. This new network will allow astronauts to access data faster and more efficiently, filling a current capability gap in data storage and access which cannot be addressed by centralised communications and data storage capacities on Earth. 

Earth Observation Dashboard Expanded: NASA, ESA and JAXA announced the expansion of their earth observation dashboard, with the newly expanded data sets revealing that Australia’s ‘Black Summer’ bushfires emitted 700 million tonnes of CO2 into the Earth’s atmosphere. 

McKinsey & Company Space Industry Report: The new report titled ‘The role of space in driving sustainability, security and development on Earth’ draws on the insights of a range of government, industry and academic contributors to forecast the future development of the space industry. The report, contributed to by SIAA, notes the changing role of government from a driver of development to a customer acting in partnership with industry as well as ongoing concerns of economic feasibility, lack of international governance and the need for greater international cooperation. Read the full report here. 

Earth Observation in the Artic Circle: The European Space Agency has contracted a consortium led by OHB Sweden AB to develop its Artic Weather Satellite Constellation Prototype. The constellation of 16 satellites will operate in polar orbit to collect weather data that can provide short range weather forecasting. The Canadian Space Agency is currently assessing the costs and benefits of conducting its own Artic Observing Mission, which could launch within the next decade if approved. Increased interest in Artic Circle earth observation highlights how climate change has altered the Artic Sea’s conditions, increasing maritime activity in the region. 

LEO Satellite Gateway to West Africa: In 6 weeks OneWeb and TinSky, the main converged communications provider in Africa, have completed the installation of 15 antennas in Ghana. The OneWeb antennas are hosted by Ghanian telecom company ComSys.  

SIAA Member Profile: Equatorial Launch Australia

Equatorial Launch Australia operates the Arnhem Space Centre, located 12 degrees south of the equator and is establishing the world’s first multi-user commercial spaceport. ELA provides a range of services including; supporting mission and launch planning, launch management and execution and payload management. ELA also provide regulatory licensing and compliance assistance, recovery of vehicles/stages and fuel storage and preparation.  

Next month ELA’s Arnhem Space Centre will host the first ever Australian commercial space launch and launch a sounding rocket for NASA. Three total NASA sounding rocket launches will occur throughout June and July, with these launches marking NASA’s first space launch from a commercial launch site. The optimal placement of the Northern Territory site offers future launch customers an ideal location for launch in Australia.  

Header Image Credit: earthshot (John Doe NASA.GOV)