The Australian government has tapped a group of experts to study how the nation’s space industry could grab a greater share of the global market.
The nine-person group, led by Megan Clark, former chief executive of an Australian scientific research agency, began its review in July and is scheduled to finish it in March.
“The Australian government wants to ensure the right framework and mix of incentives are in place to assist Australia’s growing space industry sector to participate successfully in this global market,” said Arthur Sinodinos, Australia’s minister for industry, innovation and science.
The group has already concluded that Australia needs an overall vision for space to better capitalize on the booming industry. While Australia represents 1.8 percent of the world economy, it accounts for just 0.8 percent of the global space economy. Global revenue from space-related activity grew at a compound annual rate of 9.52 percent from 1998 to 2015 and totaled $323 billion in 2015.
“Australia’s technical expertise, geographical location and close alliances with space-faring countries provide a sound basis to develop our space industry capability,” the group wrote in an “issues” paper. “For example, we were one of the first countries to use satellite telecommunications; we have a proud history of managing one of NASA’s ground stations; exciting Australian space companies are emerging and our universities have strong research capabilities, including instrumentation fabrication and testing facilities.”
Australia’s space activities with the United States include hosting and operating NASA’s Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex and partnering in the U.S. Air Force’s Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) constellation. Australia is slated to host the U.S. Air Force’s potential second Space Fence radar site, which would detect and track orbiting objects.
In September, Australia will host the International Astronautical Congress convention, where Elon Musk, founder of California-based SpaceX, will provide an update on his company’s plans for settling Mars.
The Space Industry Association of Australia released a white paper in March calling for the creation of an Australian Space Agency to lead on space activities, which are currently spread across many government agencies. That fragmentation sows confusion among foreign space agencies and contractors and creates “little accountability for lack of progress and little incentive or success,” the association wrote.
The association asserts that a space agency could double Australia’s share of the global space economy in five years and increase it five-fold, to 4 percent, in 20 years.