Tag Archive for: space agency

A universe of opportunity

This is the 17th in our series ‘Australia in Space’ leading up to ASPI’s Building Australia’s Strategy for Space conference, which begins tomorrow.

Every day space provides essential data for banking, TV, internet access and GPS. Space underpins almost every part of the broader economy—helping farmers seed a crop between the rows of last year’s crop, helping marine vessels navigate and providing emergency crews with up-to-date information. Growing how we use space will change the way we live and work, including providing new opportunities for communications in regional and remote areas.

The government has supported all the key recommendations of the recent Review of Australia’s Space Industry Capability, and in the May 2018 federal budget it announced over $300 million in space investment. Of this, $41 million is to establish Australia’s Space Agency and $260 million goes to Geoscience Australia to bring Australia’s global positioning system from our current five‑metre accuracy to a world-class standard of 10‑centimetre accuracy on our land and seas and in our airspace. Importantly, Geoscience Australia will also be funded to build world-leading three‑centimetre precise positioning accuracy in our cities.

The budget also provided funding for Geoscience Australia’s Digital Earth Australia platform to be commercialised and exported as a global standard. Australia is the first country to create a fully corrected, digital library of satellite data, collected over decades, for every 10 square metres across Australia and its coast. This funding means two of the six strategic priorities for Australia that were highlighted in the review have now been funded.

The government’s decision to allocate $41 million to establish the first Australian Space Agency is an exciting development. This includes a commitment of ongoing funding for the agency, as well as $15 million of seed funding dedicated to opening the door internationally for partnerships in the space sector to grow our emerging space industry and lift the broader economy.

The agency’s purpose is to transform and grow a globally respected Australian space industry that lifts the broader economy and inspires and improves the lives of Australians. This will be underpinned by strong international and national engagement. Australia can step up as a responsible global citizen helping to ensure safe and secure operations on earth and in space. Building partnerships that realise shared ambitions will be key to our success. In a sector undergoing transformation and rapid growth, the agency will bring an entrepreneurial spirit. We will be curious to find out more—and do some really cool things.

The key roles of the agency will be to provide one door and one voice internationally, ensure that Australia is a responsible global citizen, set national policy and strategy for the civil space sector, and coordinate Australia’s domestic space-sector activities. A vital part of the pathway for Australia in space will be to share with all Australians our expanding role in space and its importance to the nation’s economy, security, safety and living standards. The agency will play an important role in strengthening the connection that young people and their parents have with space—sparking their curiosity and expanding their knowledge and interest in space and science and technology.

Australia must make some hard choices to build on our strengths and also nurture areas where we are behind globally but could leapfrog into world-class capability. The funding in the May budget addresses two of the six strategic priorities highlighted in the review—lifting Australia’s position, navigation and timing infrastructure to the highest standard, and building the platform to commercialise and export Australia’s world-leading earth observation analysis capability. The review highlighted a further four strategic priorities—communications technology, services and ground stations; space situational awareness and debris monitoring; quantum communications, astronomy, planetary science, space medicine, and antennae and sensor technology; and remote asset management that will link how we work in space to how we work on earth.

Space will be a defining domain for human endeavour and will change what we do on earth. It is why NASA and Woodside are working together to develop ‘Robonaut’ to perform similar tasks on the International Space Station and on an offshore oil rig in Western Australia.

In some areas Australia has yet to develop world-class capability, but we have some encouraging sparks in our start-up, small business and research sectors. These areas will need additional nurturing to leapfrog onto the global stage. We will keep a close watch on technologies such as artificial intelligence, internet-of-things networks, robotics, quantum technologies, and next-generation propulsion systems, and leverage our strengths to create a sustainable space sector.

The agency’s initial task will be to develop a detailed investment plan for the development of our space industry that builds international engagement and works with states and territories to determine the contributions they can bring to the national space enterprise, and to consider the most suitable strategic location arrangements for the agency. These consultations will be guided by the purpose of the agency: to transform and grow a globally respected Australian space industry that lifts the broader economy, and inspires and improves the lives of Australians—underpinned by strong international and national engagement.

Some may argue that Australia might be late to the party, but we are entering a time when the space sector is moving from the realm of government to the commercial world. Our agency will be one of the most industry-focused space agencies in the world. Australia can be a leader and a responsible global citizen, drawing on our homegrown Aussie ingenuity.

No other industry can inspire nations quite like space, where human ambition can set its sights on interplanetary missions, colonisation beyond earth and the opportunity of finding new life. We can dream this big because of the space-based technologies that have connected the world in unprecedented ways. And in the coming decades, Australia has the opportunity to become a global leader in pushing earth’s links with space even further.

We look forward to commencing operations on 1 July 2018.

The new space race

This is the 10th in our series ‘Australia in Space’ leading up to ASPI’s Building Australia’s Strategy for Space conference in June.

The global space industry has undergone a major transformation since astronauts first walked on the Moon in the late 1960s. Half a century later it’s more appropriately known as the global space economy.

The global space economy is worth around US$345 billion, and growing at nearly 10% a year. Australia, despite the outstanding capability here on our shores, only accounts for 0.8% of the global space economy.

We have strong capability in space-related industries. We’re world leaders in areas like automated mining and precision agriculture. We also have immense expertise and capability as an advanced manufacturing nation.

What we didn’t have is a national strategy for the sector that reflects both our developing strengths and national interests over the next decade.

In 2017, the Australian government announced a review of Australia’s space industry capability. Ensuring that the right strategic framework is in place to support the growth of Australian’s space industry was core to the review process.

The government tasked an expert reference group, led by Dr Megan Clark AC, to undertake the review.

This review built on the 2013 Australia’s Satellite Utilisation Policy and the findings from the recently completed review of the Space Activities Act 1998. Reform of the space legislation is now underway to reflect advances in technologies and provide a regulatory environment that is appropriately conducive to commercial investment in the space sector. It was therefore timely for the government to review its civil space policy and refine its strategic, long-term plans for this important sector.

The review was comprehensive, well informed and strategic. The expert reference group undertook extensive consultation, including with the space community in every state and territory of Australia. It also consulted at a global level. We engaged with industry leaders of the space community, as well as ministers and relevant government agencies. In total, they reviewed the activities of more than 170 companies and 34 research groups within the Australian space sector.

The expert reference group’s final report outlined Australia’s existing and potential areas of advantage, and the immense opportunities available to us. It looked at regional and international collaboration, capability gaps, strategies to promote Australian companies, and recommendations as to how the space agency should function and operate.

That report recommended that we establish the Australian Space Agency to ensure that Australia can capitalise on its areas of comparative strength in the space industry and develop a strong and globally competitive domestic sector.

The report noted that Australia has billions of dollars’ worth of existing space-related infrastructure, including that Australians are world leaders in space-related activities like automated mining and precision agriculture.

It also identified a vibrant community of active small and medium-sized space sector businesses, and domestic expertise in satellite data analysis, radio and radar communications.

Significantly, it identified that the Turnbull government has the opportunity to triple the size of our domestic space industry to up to $12 billion by 2030—and in so doing, to create up to 20,000 new jobs for Australians.

In May 2018, the government announced the creation of Australia’s first ever space agency. Dr Clark will lead the agency for the first 12 months.

Beginning its operations on 1 July 2018, the agency will support the long-term development and application of space technologies, growing our domestic space industry and securing our place in the global space economy.

We’re committed to the development of Australia’s space industry to drive investment, create jobs and position Australia as a key participant in the global space economy.

The space industry is immense. It spans the design and build of satellite technology, the ground systems that receive and store data, and the great challenges posed by the processing, interpretation and application of that data. Moreover, it underpins the long-term competitiveness of industries across the economy including communication, agriculture, mining, oil and gas.

These opportunities will bring new growth and capabilities to Australian businesses in every sector. This will create high-wage, long-term jobs nationwide—including in rural and regional areas, and especially in STEM disciplines.

Critically, the agency is only part of a broader space innovation ecosystem that the government is creating.

The Turnbull government is also investing more than $260 million to provide all Australians with world-leading core satellite infrastructure and technologies, including better GPS and satellite imagery across the whole country.

On its own, GPS typically provides Australia with positioning accuracies of five to 10 metres. Over the next four years, the government will make positioning data accurate to 10 centimetres everywhere in Australia through a satellite-based augmentation system. Areas with mobile coverage will have access to positioning data accurate to three centimetres thanks to the establishment of the National Positioning Infrastructure Capability.

A $37 million investment in Digital Earth Australia will give Australian businesses greater access to reliable, standardised satellite data that identifies physical changes to our environment on the ground.

These initiatives alone are game changers for many businesses that rely on this technology. Farmers will be able to cut costs and reduce waste by remotely tracking livestock and precisely targeting crops with fertiliser, water and pesticides. The Royal Flying Doctor Service will able to land more safely in more remote locations. The world’s largest ships will have a quicker, easier and safer way to dock in busy ports like Sydney Harbour.

It will also enable the development of new technologies and businesses, such as autonomous cars.

The Australian Space Agency will ensure Australia is part of the new ‘space race’. Investing in our space industry is just one part of the Turnbull government’s plan to create new high-growth opportunities for Australian businesses. From the laboratory to the factory floor, the Turnbull government’s investment is helping create jobs for Australians right across the country.

ADF space operations: re-focusing the military lens


This is the second in our series ‘Australia in Space’ leading up to ASPI’s Building Australia’s Strategy for Space conference in June.

‘Victory smiles upon those who anticipate the changes in the character of war, not upon those who wait to adapt themselves after the changes occur.’

Giulio Douhet, The command of the air, 1921

Giulio Douhet was an early devotee of air power who championed command of the air as a necessary precursor for operations on land or at sea. While his prophetic ideas were vilified initially and resulted in his military court-martial, they eventually led to the recognition of air as a unique operational domain.

Today a comparable transformation is occurring in the way the Australian Defence Force and its allies view the space domain. Gone is a public policy narrative that espouses space as a sanctuary. It has been replaced by a more realist view—where it’s feared that space will now be contested, degraded and operationally limited.

The US, currently the world’s dominant space power, is wrestling with new strategy to address its perceived Achilles’ heel: an exquisitely engineered, aggregated and frangible space enterprise that underpins its techno-centric style of warfare.

Due to Australia’s reliance upon US space-derived services, any fragility in the US space enterprise portends a dark cloud for our own security. However, an opportunity exists for Australia to develop its own strategy for the space domain, helping deter bad actors while playing to our strengths.

Since Sputnik first ventured skywards in 1957, space has been a contested domain. As far back as 2001, the US Space Commission warned of a ‘Space Pearl Harbor’, and made major recommendations to enhance space security. Subsequent US commissions reinforced the need for change and unity of effort, but to little or no effect. But now a plethora of new entrants, disruptive technologies and congestion are driving the evolution of a new space security agenda.

In December 2017, the US established its inaugural four-star Joint Force Space Component Commander, with operational command for all joint space forces. This novel restructure parallels similar centralised roles in the air, maritime and land domains. Douhet would be pleased.

Simultaneously, the US has shifted from benevolently encouraging coalition participation to seeing allies as essential in preserving space as a global commons. Australia, for its part, has made robust efforts to revamp its doctrine, capabilities and approach to space.

A growing Australian Space Operations Centre (AUSSPOC) mirrors the role played by the US Joint Space Operations Command and other allied space operations commands charged with the same mission. Additionally, a fledgling Australian space cadre has effectively doubled over the last five years and continues to grow. Nonetheless, it pales in comparison to the US, which has a space command numbering over 30,000, including thousands of dedicated space career professionals.

Any conflict in space bodes ill for humankind. The characteristics of orbital dynamics entail that any defunct satellite or debris leaves a legacy for a thousand years and beyond. We have challenges, but there are also great opportunities.

Australia’s space security and contribution to security of the commons can be enhanced without the multibillion-dollar premium that funds legacy space capabilities. A whole-of-government strategy may not offer the cachet of large technological projects, but there are a number of avenues we can pursue that offer value for money.

First, space operational doctrine requires development and dissemination. Noting that space hasn’t been through a crucible of conflict like other domains, we can only explore the vagaries of operations through war-gaming and scenario-based simulations. From a national security perspective, problems in space are metaphorically—and physically—far away. Despite the robust Schriever wargame series and other exercises, space operations need intellectual investment and joint exercises to stimulate better understanding.

Second, continued integration between allies is required, moving beyond the Five Eyes community (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US) to encompass new entrants. Australia can utilise its regional position to build a multinational framework that also contributes to space security, as was suggested in ASPI’s recent report on Australia’s future in space, or to our space commons. Improvements rarely occur unless like-minded partners collaborate.

Third, broad policy options must be developed to guide government and industry decision-makers when it comes to space security. There are glaring holes in areas such as diplomacy, military response, policy and law.

Finally, a culture of space-mindedness is essential across all domains, and expertise from ethicists to engineers is required. The development of an interdisciplinary space cadre would expand from space operators presently stemming from a traditional air combat heritage to include intelligence, legal, engineering, policy and planning backgrounds.

Clausewitz once warned that ‘there can be no question of a purely military evaluation of a great strategic issue, nor of a purely military scheme to solve it’. Our present space power strategy is discordant, blurred as it is by a purely military lens.

A strategy integrating the broader elements of space power—government, military, industry and academic—would enhance Australia’s contribution to safeguarding this critically important domain.

Australia in space—50 years after WREsat

Two Defence Department space projects 50 years apart have neat parallels. On 29 November 1967, Australia’s first satellite, WREsat, developed by a forerunner of the Defence Science and Technology Group, was launched from Woomera. Last week, Buccaneer RRM, a small satellite built by DST Group and the University of New South Wales, was launched from California.

The strategic space environment has changed over the intervening years, as Malcolm Davis wrote recently. At the time of WREsat, space was a ‘sanctuary’ accessible to only a handful of powers. All considered space to be fundamentally intertwined with nuclear capability and off limits short of all-out war.

Now, a trifecta of factors threaten space stability: Western powers rely on satellite capabilities more than ever; a growing number of groups can interfere with or destroy satellites; and standards of acceptable behaviour in space haven’t been established. Add to that mix accidental hazards like space debris and solar storms, and conflict is a real possibility.

At a recent National Space Council meeting, US Vice President Mike Pence was remarkably blunt: ‘Russia and China … are considering attacks against satellite systems as part of their future warfare doctrine.’ Other speakers, including former NASA Administrator Mike Griffin, emphasised that the response ‘must include allies’. Although it might surprise those steeped in Star Wars visions of billion-dollar space projects, less well-resourced allies can play a disproportionally influential role in modern space security.

So what should Australia’s role be? We should participate where our contributions are magnified beyond their dollar value by lenses of geography, national sovereignty, capability and agility.

The geographical contributions are most obvious. Australia has historically leveraged geography for satellite command, control and communications at Pine Gap, and more recently for space situational awareness (SSA) in Western Australia. An expanded contribution to SSA makes sense, and defence planning acknowledges this with a $1–2 billion indicative spend to 2035 (under the integrated investment program). An Australian SSA focus would build on existing civilian space capabilities and Australia’s strengths in observational astronomy. Adding sensors across Australia and its outlying territories would increase the timeliness and accuracy of SSA information, give Australia a leading role in integrating SSA data across the Five Eyes community, and potentially lead to commercial applications.

We can also contribute by promoting a rules-based order in space. The existing framework for activity in space, enshrined in treaties that are nearly 50 years old, is dangerously outmoded and lacks clear standards for responsible behaviour by states. Yet, as a recent paper from the Pentagon argues, norms are a critical part of a deterrence strategy. Consistent Australian participation in relevant forums—especially in our region—can help shape the ‘rules of the road’ to the benefit of Australia and its allies. Australia has that capability; we recently made important contributions to clarifying how the laws of war apply to space and we have a history, albeit patchy, of participating in relevant UN committees.

Australia’s strong niche capabilities, particularly in remote sensing, could develop useful satellites or satellite payloads. These would further diversify space-based assets across the Five Eyes and create a conflict-resilient architecture. Australia’s intention to invest in a remote-sensing capability is a positive step that builds on those existing national strengths.  The scope of these ‘space hardware’ contributions will increase if our space industrial base develops on the back of a civilian agency.

Finally, Australia’s relatively small industry, so often a limiting factor, can be a positive influence. The US is challenged to innovate fast in space and is experimenting with new organisational structures. Our efforts lack much of the industrial baggage the US carries and can point the way. Joint innovation centres on both sides of the Pacific could be established to rapidly develop new capabilities, and similar work is underway in Canada.

These contributions would reinforce each other. Better SSA capabilities promote transparency, which helps enforce norms. More space capability develops greater ‘skin in the game’, which boosts our ability to shape norms. Innovation leads to more effective space hardware, and so on.

To make the most of the opportunity, though, three changes in mindset would help.

First, the civil space agency must be established and staffed to credibly contribute to national security discussions. Key areas of SSA, norms and remote sensing span the civil–military divide. Our space efforts are too small for the left hand to be unaware of what the right hand is doing.

Second, Australia needs to develop its own space policy to benefit its own interests. Canberra and Washington have a close alliance, but that doesn’t mean Australia should merely await instructions. Rather, we should identify trends, develop forward-thinking plans, talk with allies and move ahead. Australian contributions grounded in independent thought will be the most welcome.

Finally, we should identify the capabilities that will accelerate development of our civil and military space sectors and use our relationship with the US to grow them. A strong Australian space sector benefits both countries, and the strength of the relationship offers a stepping stone to an unprecedented but appropriate level of Australian space capability.

Such a goal was no doubt in the minds of the WREsat team 50 years ago. We have a chance to realise it today.