Southern Space - 7 February

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

Industry News

ELA Unveils Completed HIF Designs: SIAA Member Equatorial Launch Australia has revealed completed designs for the company’s Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF) buildings. The HIF buildings are several assembly, integration and testing facilities built to host up to seven rocket launch companies that will be based at the Arnhem Space Centre (ASC). The delivery of the HIF designs completes ELA’s designs for its ‘Space Launch Complex’ (SLC), a designated area of the spaceport comprised of up to two launch pads and one HIF building for each launch company.?

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NorthStar-1 Launch: On January 27 SIAA Member NorthStar Earth & Space launched North Star-1, the company's first four Space Situational Awareness (SSA) satellites, to LEO as part of SIAA Member Rocket Lab's 'Four Of A Kind' mission from Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand. The launch is the result of collaboration between NorthStar, launch service provider Rocket Lab, satellite operator and SIAA Member Spire Global, and deployment specialists, Exolaunch. The remaining eight satellites within the planned constellation will be launched on two future Electron missions by 2026.??

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CRS-20 Launch: On January 30 , a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched SIAA Foundation Member Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS). The launch marked Northrop Grumman’s 20th commercial resupply services mission and the first time Cygnus launched on a Falcon 9 rocket.??

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U.S. Space Force Contracts Awarded: SIAA Foundation Member Lockheed Martin and Boeing have each been awarded $66 million contracts by Space Force to design a new narrowband communications satellite. Under the contracts, the companies will create prototype satellites in a competition for the building of two Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellites for the U.S. Military.??

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Northrop Grumman DARC Selection: Following the signing of an MoU between AUKUS alliance partners, SIAA Foundation Member Northrop Grumman has been selected to develop Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC). DARC is a global network of three advanced ground-based sensors to be operated in collaboration with AUKUS partners. The program will provide 24/7 weather capabilities that aim to increase the ability to detect, track, identify and characterise objects in deep space.??

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Spire Awarded NOAA Contract: SIAA Member Spire Global has been awarded a $9.4 million contract from the U.S. National Oceanographic and Oceanic Administration (NOAA) for the continued provision of essential atmospheric data, specifically the provision of radio occultation (RO) data for an eight-month period.??

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NRF CEO Appointed: The Department of Industry, Science and Resources has announced the appointment of Mr Ivan Power as CEO of the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC). Mr Power will bring over 25 years of industry experience to the role.??

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SmartSat Agreement with New Zealand Space Agency: SmartSat CRC and the New Zealand Space Agency (NZSA) have signed an MoU to collaborate on the development of new capabilities in the Australasian space sector through the advancement of innovation, R&D, and workforce development.??

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JAXA SLIM Lunar Landing: Last month, JAXA’s Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) spacecraft successfully achieved a soft landing on the lunar surface, making Japan the fifth nation to successfully land on the lunar surface. Upon descent of the spacecraft however, SLIM tipped over away from the sun and lost power, resulting in a shut down that persisted until JAXA briefly reactivated contact with the lander this week. SLIM has been shut down again, with the agency stating they will resume the mission if the lander survives the two-week lunar night.??

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Starlab Partnership with SpaceX: Starlab , a joint venture between Voyager Space and Airbus, has announced a partnership with SpaceX to launch a commercial space laboratory into LEO.??

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Artemis Accords: Belgium has become the latest nation to sign onto NASA’s Artemis Accords, bringing the total number of signatories to 34. Angola also joined the Accords in December of 2023.?

Industry Opportunities

Australian Space Agency Moon to Mars spin-in capabilities: EOI Open?

The Australian Space Agency is seeking expressions of interest (EOI) for discussions on niche Australian technology capabilities.??

The Agency welcome input from Australian industry and academia working or researching in: mining and resources technologies, METS innovations, robotics, artificial intelligence, quantum sensing, automation, edge computing and remote operations, space technology or data for productivity and/or safety improvements, resource utilisation, extraction, exploration and planetary science.??

Additionally, they welcome input on topics and technologies related to: the Australian Space Agency's Moon to Mars Initiative, NASA’s Moon to Mars Architecture, the Artemis Program, and finally international space exploration and robotics programs from ESA, Japan, India, UK, and other countries.?

Expressions of Interest close 14 February 2024. See more here .??

Upcoming Events

IAC2025 Space Sector Workshop Adelaide?

Where: Adelaide CBD?

When: 27 February 2024, 2pm-4pm ACDT?

SIAA invites the Adelaide space community to join us for an industry workshop to assist SIAA in shaping IAC2025 in Sydney. We look forward to announcing similar workshops across Australia in the coming weeks.?

Please email [email protected] to register.??

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IAC2025 Space Sector Workshop Perth?

Where: Perth CBD?

When: 29 February 2024, 2pm-4pm AWST?

SIAA invites the WA space community to join us for an industry workshop to assist SIAA in shaping IAC2025 in Sydney. We look forward to announcing similar workshops across Australia in the coming weeks.?

Please email [email protected] to register.?

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IAC Milan 2024 Abstract Submission Information Session?

Where: Online?

When: 13 February 2024?

In partnership with the International Astronautical Congress, the Australian Space Agency and Investment NSW, SIAA is pleased to offer an online information session on Tuesday, 13 February at 6:00pm (AEDT), for all interested in submitting an abstract for the IAC Milan 2024 conference.??

Register Here ?

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: NorthStar Earth & Space

Founded in 2015 by Telesystem and KinetX, NorthStar Earth & Space is a Space Research and Technology company. NorthStar is headquartered in Canada, with over seventy employees based around the globe, including Luxembourg and the U.S. The company's core objective is to "to vastly improve sustainability by creating a unique set of information services, Space Information & Intelligence (Si2) and Earth Information & Intelligence (Ei2), that will empower humanity to preserve our critical Space and Earth environments".???

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The company's space-related capabilities include navigational assistance, change detection, information data services and professional Si2 services. NorthStar's space-based monitoring system tracks and predicts the positions of Space objects and Earth ecosystems through a system of sensors, algorithms, and high-speed information processing.??

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On January 27 , NorthStar launched North Star-1, the company's first four Space Situational Awareness (SSA) satellites, to LEO as part of SIAA Member Rocket Lab's 'Four Of A Kind' mission from Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand. The launch is the result of collaboration between NorthStar, Rocket Lab, SIAA Member Spire Global, and deployment specialists, Exolaunch.??

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NorthStar is one of SIAA's newest Corporate Members in 2024.?

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Header Image Credit:?Thunderheads Near Borneo, Indonesia (NASA, ISS, 05-08-14)