By Staff Writer.
Australian Space Agency chief Enrico Palermo says Australia is an emerging space nation that should be on the global space sector’s radar. Backed by government funding and an increasingly vibrant commercial space sector, Palermo says the momentum is rapidly growing across Australia’s space industry.
The Head of the ASA was speaking at the Space Symposium held in Colorado this week. Along with dozens of private sector Australian space businesses and 100 plus individuals from across the government, commercial enterprise, and media fields in Australia, Mr Palermo was at the Symposium promoting Australia’s fast rising space sector to the world.
“In 2021, the momentum in our sector really started to accelerate,” he said. “We saw more Australian technology launched into space. We saw our first spaceport licensed and our first launch attempt under our amended Space Launches and Return Act.”
Palermo was keen to correct the perception that Australia is new to space. It isn’t. He says Australia’s involvement in space goes back to the post-WWII era. But the Australian Government rebooted the country’s space strategy in recent years with the formation of the ASA and the implementation of a civil space strategy. The ASA chief says he wants to grow a globally respected, responsible, and thriving space sector ecosystem in Australia that addresses its most significant challenges and lifts everyday individuals’ lives.
“We’re now entering the implementation phase of our civil space strategy. We’re seeing a very diverse and vibrant sector develop,” Palermo said. “That’s just a reflection of the momentum and activity, with space now a priority for our government. We’re seeing increased investment and increasing commercialisation – it’s a very exciting time for us.”
The Australian Government’s revived interest in space has seen it commit to spending $12 billion in the sector by 2030 and creating 20,000 new jobs. Since the establishment of the ASA in 2018, the Government has already spent more than $2 billion on space projects.
New Gen Exhibit at the 37th Annual Space Symposium at the Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs.
The recent 2022-23 Budget also included over $1 billion through to 2038-39 and more than $38 million annually for the first stage of a National Space Mission for Earth Observation. That will result in Australia designing, building, and operating four new satellites.
“This is a really important mission for the nation,” said Palermo. “Australia has been a long-time consumer of earth observation data, and we reflected we also need to be a contributor of free and open data. That project reflects that our momentum in the space sector is going up.”
The space agency chief believes that the satellite program is only the first of several space missions Australia will embark on. The ASA is also helping develop a rover to travel to the Moon mid-decade.
Palermo says the additional funding is a real shot in the arm for Australia’s commercial space sector. He says it won’t just uplift the country’s satellite manufacturing capability but also help businesses in the situational awareness, robotics and automation, communications, and cyber sectors. As a result, Palermo thinks the local space industry is starting to get on a real power curve.
