The Australian Space Agency is an agency under the Australian Government responsible for the development of Australia's commercial space industry, coordinating domestic activities, identifying opportunities and facilitating international space engagement that include Australian stakeholders.
McEwin Building, headquarters
Its headquarters, opened in February 2020, are located in Lot Fourteen in Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. The Australian Space Discovery Centre, where space technology is exhibited and information sessions provided to the public, is on site.
History
As of 2008, Australia was the only OECD country without a space agency other than Iceland,[3] with the preceding National Space Program and Australian Space Office (ASO) having been disbanded by the federal government in 1996.[4] A government report from the Australian Senate Standing Committee on Economics noted that Australia was "missing out on opportunities" and recommended that an agency immediately be developed.[5]
In 2009, the Space Policy Unit funded the Australian Space Research Program over three years.[3] It led to an accessible Landsat satellite imagery archive and the development and testing of a scramjet launcher.[6]
Need for agency
On 16 September 2016, Andrea Boyd, an Australian working as a flight operations engineer for the International Space Station (ISS) in Cologne, Germany, delivered an address[7] at the Global Access Partners Summit[8] in Parliament House, Sydney, urging Australia to grasp the commercial opportunities of the new space market and protect its national sovereignty by establishing a national space agency. In response, a taskforce was gathered, which led to the establishment of the Expert Reference Group, co-funded by the federal Department of Industry, Innovation and Science.[9] Chaired by former head of CSIRO, Dr Megan Clark, it gathered recommendations from aerospace experts including Professor Russell Boyce, Professor Steven Freeland, the space administrator Dr David Williams and Dr Jason Held, founder of Saber Astronautics. It recommended the creation of a commercially focused Australian space agency and delivered its report to the Australian Government in August 2017.[9]
By 2017, Australian facilities were playing a critical role in 40 space missions of other nations, from deep space explorers, to Mars rovers, to astronomical space observatories.[10] The case for a sovereign-owned agency, if not with sovereign launch facilities in the short term, was being made by think tanks such as Australian Strategic Policy Institute.[11]
As part of the Australian Government's 2018 budget announcement, AU$26 million in seed funding over four years from 2018 was included to establish the Australian Space Agency, with a further AU$15 million for international space investment starting from 2019.[13][14][15] The budget was criticised for being inadequate by private Australian space companies including Delta-V and Gilmour Space Technologies,[16] and space archaeologistAlice Gorman noted that low-budget attempts at starting an Australian space agency have failed in the past.[17]
Launch of the agency
On 14 May 2018, Senator Michaelia Cash officially announced the launch of the Australian Space Agency, identifying 1 July 2018 as the commencement date of the agency, with Megan Clark as the inaugural head of the agency for at least the first year.[18][19] Prime Minister Scott Morrison later announced that Adelaide would become home to the Australian Space Agency. It would be located at Lot Fourteen, the site of the former Royal Adelaide Hospital, near the north-eastern corner of Adelaide city centre, in 2019.[20]
The agency opened its office on 19 February 2020. It aims to triple the size of the Australian space industry and create 20,000 new jobs by 2030.[21] On 13 October 2021, the Australian Government announced an agreement with NASA whereby Australian researchers and scientists would build a rover that will be sent to the moon by 2026.[22]
A new sculpture by Sundari Carmody, entitled One: all that we can see, is a 4 m (13 ft) wide large tubular ring, fashioned from steel and with LED light at the top was unveiled in June 2022. The work was commissioned by Lot Fourteen, and is located in front of the Australian Space Discovery Centre.[27]
Providing national policy and strategic advice on the civil space sector.
Coordinating Australia's domestic civil space sector activities.
Supporting the growth of Australia's space industry and the use of space across the broader economy.
Leading international civil space engagement.
Administering space activities legislation and delivering on our international obligations.
Inspiring the Australian community and the next generation of space entrepreneurs.
The Australian Space Agency differentiates itself from other national space programs in its stated focus on private development and businesses rather than state driven operations (contrasting with NASA and the European Space Agency).[29]
AU$17.1 million (FY2021/22)[1][2]
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