An Australian Space Agency At Last?

Dante_J writes "In the Australian Federal budget presented last night, as well as big national infrastructure spending, an amount of $48.6 million over four years was allocated for an 'Australian Space Science Program.' Normally a space program is managed by a space agency. Does this now mean that Australia will follow the recommendations of the Senate Space Science report and give up its rather inadequate title of the only top-20 GDP nation not to have one? With nations like Vietnam, Bangladesh and Bulgaria forming or maintaining space agencies, this government infrastructure is obviously not limited to G-20 nations. Discussions to combine Australian and New Zealand airspace have been undertaken; should that translate to aerospace too, and both nations form an ANZAC space agency together?"

Australian Labor Governments

[Anonymous Coward]

Have a habit of reannouncing existing spending, just with a new name.

ASP

[Anonymous Coward]

Kangaroos in space!

Re:obligatory

[Nasajin]

Given the topic of the article, the obligatory position would be 20th post.

Re:ASP

[MichaelSmith]

Not for 50 million bucks you won't.

Yeah, but -

[RevWaldo]

How are they gonna fire them rockets right-side up?

Re:Not enough

[flyingsquid]

The $10 million per year funds development of an advanced, lightweight carbon-fiber device, the Primitive Orbital UNit Cargo Holder, or POUCH. This device is attached to the side of US and Russian launch vehicles, and the Australians can then place tiny rockets and satellites in the POUCH to launch them into orbit. Launch vehicles are recovered using a novel mechanism. Giant steel springs are attached to the bottom of the launch vehicles; after reentering the atmosphere, the vehicles hit the ground, compressing the springs, and the energy is then dissipated as the vehicle bounces across the Australian outback using a hopping motion.

Spaaaaaaaaace

[JudgeSlash]

In space, no-one can hear the dingo taking your baby...

Re:Yeah, but -

[Anonymous Coward]

We just unbolt them from the ground and they fall into space.

Ten Million a Year!

[paulkoan]

Just enough to fund the committee that will take four years to discuss whether an Agency is necessary.

Re:Research only = FAIL

[jamesh]

Note, this doesn't include the engineering and development of engines, any sort of space-faring capability, or warp drive.

AU$50m ain't gonna buy you a whole lot of space program.

But remember, we're Australians and we're already upside down. The sort of engineering we'll be doing is most likely 'reverse' engineering.

ANZAC?

[grim-one]

"form an ANZAC Space Agency together" So that'd be an Australia and New Zealand Army Corps Space Agency then?

A Moment

[dark grep]

That is going to buy a heck of a lot of Mentos and Diet Pepsi, even after you take out the International Expert consulting fee from the Mythbusters.

Re:Australian Labor Governments

[Divebus]

They can reuse that chunk of Skylab and save a little money.

About time ...

[golodh]

An Australian Space Agency? So they are finally going to explore the Outback? About time too !

Re:ANZAC?

[seyyah]

"form an ANZAC Space Agency together" So that'd be an Australia and New Zealand Army Corps Space Agency then?

Thats not going to end well you know.

Be extremely careful. You are about to subject us all to some teary-eyed Aussie reciting the line how it was all the fault of the British general who couldn't tell time and sent those brave ANZACs to their deaths in Simla Bay at 5 past ten instead of 10 past five. And he'll be humming the Walzing Mathilda all the while.
 
None of us want this. So just lay off on how they bungled Gallipoli and we'll all be the better for it.

And the first drongo that mentions Stroon!...

[ScottZ]

As (possibly ;-) ) heard in a pub recently...

"Look. Its not a foolproof plan but its still pretty bloody awesome. The pollies and their gready wanker mates have ruined the planet. Our country might cop it up the arse harder than any other poor bastard. So, we go with their grandiose bloody scheme and when it comes time for them to bugger off, we create a diversion, give 'em space suits with dodgy visors and pack 'em into a welded-up bus with lox flowing down the sides and pull the lever on a bloody big rubber band! Voosh! Hello Great Southern Bight!

Then we can grab ours beers, our horses, dogs, sheep, cats and sheilas and piss off in the real one. Waddya reckon?..."

knifey spooney

[stimpleton]

Oh Lordy, i can imagine if the aussies find alien life first...

"You call that a ruby dye laser? Now *this* is a ruby dye laser!"

This is a knife! [youtube.com]

Re:Yeah, but -

[afaik_ianal]

MHOOSH!!!

water?

[Swoopy]

First order of business: how to harvest water ice from space?

Re:obligatory

[fractoid]

What will they call this new agency? It's Australian, and it'll probably serve our local region too. And space is "the final frontier" so the primary role of this agency is exploration.

Australian Regional Space Exploration. How's that sound?

Re:obligatory

[Nasajin]

Yeah, and they'd pilot a vehicle called the Australian National Uranus Spacecraft. It's practically recursive.

Re:ASP

[MichaelSmith]

Russian launch vehicles have to be rotated to the correct azimuth before launch. I believe the launch pads have welded in stops which prevent them being pointed at Moscow.

There must be a reason for that...

Re:Yeah, but -

[ignavus]

We just unbolt them from the ground and they fall into space.

Well, it's well known that anything not bolted down in this country just disappears. It's been a mystery up until now. Thanks for clearing that up.

Re:obligatory

[tech_fixer]

Australian Science and Space Exploration Service: A.S.S.E.S

Re:obligatory

[everynerd]

That's a funny name. I would've called it The Ministry of Spaceborne Chazzwozzers.