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major user of data derived from satellites, all of which are owned and
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operated offshore. The annual impact of the geo-spatial services industry
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to the national economy is in the order of four billion dollars. The
Australian government, through normal budgetary processes, is developing
plans for major upgrades to the ground infrastructure needed to support
precision location and the receipt of Earth observation data from the next
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generation of broadband satellites.
Australia is well-placed geographically to support the space activities of many
nations. It hosts ground stations that support civil and commercial activities
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as well as the national security interests of its close allies. It is relatively
close to the space faring nations of north and south Asia and is equidistant,
in terms of longitude, from North America and Europe and also from Africa
and South America.
More challenging is the quest to have mainly small Australian companies
develop products and services that meet niche needs in the global supply
chains of the companies that build and launch rockets and satellites. High
labour costs, lack of track record in delivering exceptionally reliable products
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and distance are three challenging hurdles to be jumped. The Australian
government is aware of these problems, which are not confined to the space
and spatial services sector of the economy. Objective realities
notwithstanding, there is a small but vocal group of Australians who argue
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that Australia needs a full-blown space agency with investment to match.
To date, these advocates have failed to present a compelling case to the
government.
Teaching and Research
Several universities offer courses in space engineering and in various
branches of space science, including solar physics and space weather,
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planetary science and astrobiology. These research disciplines struggle to
attract substantial research funds. In contrast, governments have made major
investments in telescopes (radio and optical) for ground-based astronomy
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over many years. Sensing technologies with dual uses, such as phased array
radio receivers and adaptive optics, are being developed and deployed on
modern telescopes. They also have direct application to sensors being
developed to provide space situational awareness in the future to the levels
of fidelity that will be essential to the successful implementation and
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operation of the proposed ICoC.
The Proposed ICoC for Outer Space: An Australian Perspective | www.orfonline.org 133