Southern Space - 3 June 2022

Industry News

Federal Cabinet Appointments: SIAA welcomes the Hon Richard Marles MP as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence and the Hon Ed Husic MP as Minister for Industry and Science.?SIAA looks forward to continuing to work with both MPs to?advance Australia’s space industry. ?

Geostationary Weather Satellites to Include Ocean Sensors: SIAA member Raytheon Intelligence & Space and Ball Aerospace will develop ocean colour sensors for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) future satellite constellation. This technology will allow NOAA to collect data related to ocean productivity, ecosystem change and hazards, coastal and inland water quality and seafood safety. ?

Deorbiting Telecommunications Satellites: Partnering with OneWeb, In-orbit servicing company Astroscale will begin building and testing a prototype spacecraft that can?be used to deorbit six small communications satellites following the end of their operational service. Although each OneWeb satellite has enough fuel to actively deorbit at the end of life, each satellite further has an inbuilt fixture that would allow a servicer spacecraft to collect and deorbit the defunct satellite if required.?

Space Command to develop a single point of contact for Commercial Innovators: Dubbed the ‘front-door initiative’, Space Command is looking to streamline its engagement with industry through establishing a single point of contact for industry?inquiries. This change will allow Space Command?to better leverage domestic and international capability. ?

Italy: Axiom Space has signed a MOU with the Italian government to increase collaboration and develop space infrastructure to be integrated into the future Axiom Station. The MOU notably?included a concept for an Italian module that could be integrated into the Axiom Space Station, allowing Italy to conduct microgravity research on the station.?

China views Starlink satellite constellation as a key threat: Chinese researchers are concerned by the potential for the Starlink satellite constellation to be used for military applications and have suggested the need to develop measures to monitor, disable or even destroy the constellation. Chinese researchers have suggested that existing methods for disabling satellites available to China such as jamming communications, blinding sensors, hacking into networks and ASAT missiles will not be effective against a satellite constellation the scale of Starlink, which plans to operate over 40,000 satellites in LEO.?

Space Based Solar Power: For the first time in around 20 years, NASA will re-examine the viability of space based solar power. The study will revisit past work around collecting and transmitting solar energy from space to earth for electricity conversion. The study will explore the potential costs of space-based solar, policy issues and public perceptions around space-based solar power generation. ?

China: China is preparing to launch three astronauts to its Tiangong space station for a six month stay in which the astronauts will oversee the final phases of space station construction. The launch date has not been publicly announced but is expected around 5th June. ?

US Satellite Control Network to undergo billion-dollar upgrade: BlueHalo has won a $1.4 billion contract to upgrade the US satellite control network, including ground stations and tracking antennas used by the US military for satellite communications. As part of the upgrade?BlueHalo will replace parabolic antennas with electronic phased arrays that can be in contact with multiple satellites across varying orbits. ??

Nuclear Power in Space: The US Defense Innovation Unit is investigating using nuclear propulsion and power capabilities for small spacecraft that can?operate in cislunar space. Signing two prototype contracts with Ultra Safe Nuclear and Avalanche Energy, this development is part of the US military’s focus on increasing commercial and government cislunar activities. ?

Spacesuit Provider: NASA has awarded?Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace a combined $3.5 billion in contracts to develop the next generation of spacesuits for missions to the ISS and Moon. Earlier this week Boeing announced that it had selected ILC Dover to provide Boeing’s Ascent/Entry suits for the company’s Commercial Crew Program. ?

Industry Opportunities

The Catalyst Accelerator: International Space Domain Awareness: Applications are now open for the Air Force Research Laboratory and US Space Force sponsored Catalyst Accelerator. The defense and national security industry accelerator, headquartered on the Catalyst Campus for Technology and Innovation at Colorado Springs, offers a semi-residential, 3-month program for small businesses with innovative, dual-use technology to foster capability development. ?

Applications close 6 July 2022 ?

Upcoming Events

AmCham –?2022 A Space Odyssey ?

When: 19 July 12 pm – 2 pm AEST?

Where: The Commonwealth Club, Canberra ?

On the 53rd anniversary of the moon landing, the American Chamber of Commerce will host an industry luncheon to discuss the development of Australian sovereign space technologies. Featuring speakers from the Director of ANU’s Institute for Space Professor Anna Moore, CEO of EOS Systems Glen Tindall, CSIRO Director Earth Observation Infrastructure Alex Held and SIAA Director Jeremy Hallett. ?

Register for the AmCham event here?

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ADSTAR Summit 2022 –?Exploring the Art of the Possible?

When: 20 July – 22 July ?

Where: International Convention Centre, Sydney ?

The Australian Defence, Science, Technology and Research summit showcases defence-related research and innovation.?Under the theme of ‘Resilience’, this year’s summit will focus on resilience in contested environments, the use of artificial intelligence and the use of human and defensive biotechnologies. ?

Register for the ADSTAR Summit here?

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RMIT International SpaceCRAFT Exploration Challenge?

When: 4 July –9 July ?

Where: RMIT?

RMIT is searching for 12 Victorian students from years 7 and 8 to participate in the International SpaceCRAFT Exploration Challenge. Highschool students will have the opportunity to learn from experts on the topics of planetary science, spacecraft systems, orbital mechanics and robotic exploration as well as undertake a simulated space mission as part of the RMIT mission team. ?

Applications close 17 June. ?

Apply through SIAA member One Giant Leap?here?

SIAA Member Profile: Romar Engineering

Romar Engineering provides advanced manufacturing and processing solutions for a wide range of industries including aerospace, aeronautical, medical, defence, mining and rail.?

Established more than 50 years ago, the company has evolved to be the “contract manufacturer of choice” for local and international customers requiring a highly focused and experienced manufacturing partner.???

Romar has invested significantly in state-of-the-art and niche additive manufacturing technology, software and facilities, but equipment in itself is just a box without the requisite team that has the drive, enthusiasm and experience to extract maximum performance and value from such technology. Romar has both. Our team has the depth of experience and intelligence to outperform and deliver robust solutions to difficult manufacturing problems.?

In 2021 Romar Engineering was awarded a $5.85m MMI for Space grant to develop and grow its Fluid and Motion Controls business and in 2022 Romar was part of a successful team lead by Hypersonix Launch Systems that was awarded a $2.95m CRC-P grant to develop a world first reusable hypersonic unmanned aerial vehicle.?