Satellites, Hypersonics Underpin Australian Space Goals
Aviation Week
The Australian government is signaling its intent to become a player in the space business by announcing plans to set up a formal national space policy, steered by a small group to facilitate the fledgling venture.
At the same time, the country is also laying out a space sciences program, and has issued requests for proposals to industry, academia and other government agencies for basic science experiments to help kick-start the initiative into life. The plan is supported by a modest $A40 million ($37.07 million) in initial “seed” money, which the government will use to match investment from winning proposals on a dollar-for-dollar basis.
Although smaller than the A$100 million originally sought when talk of a national space policy last hit the headlines two years ago, most domestic players seem happy with the initiative. “This is the opportunity to show we can do something, and to come up with a number of projects fairly quickly,” says Russell Boyce, Defense Sciences Technology Office (DSTO) and University of Queensland hypersonics chairman. “It is also a recognition by the Australian government that we depend incredibly heavily on space and space technology.”
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My country has dragged its heels in spaceflight for too long, despite some wonderful work in certain areas. I hope we can make more progress in the near future.