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Australia Space Businesses

Australia Finally Creates Its Own National Space Agency (yahoo.com) 117

50 years after Australia became the third country to launch a satellite into space, they had another big announcement. An anonymous reader quotes AFP: Australia on Monday committed to creating a national space agency as it looks to cash in on the lucrative and fast-evolving astronautical sector. The announcement came at a week-long Adelaide space conference attended by the world's top scientists and experts including SpaceX chief Elon Musk. It brings Canberra -- which already has significant involvement in national and international space activities -- into line with most other developed nations, which already have dedicated agencies to help coordinate the industry and shape development. "The global space industry is growing rapidly and it's crucial that Australia is part of this growth," acting science minister Michaelia Cash said in statement.
The Australian government estimates that the global space sector now drives $323 billion in revenue each year.
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Australia Finally Creates Its Own National Space Agency

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  • by 93 Escort Wagon ( 326346 ) on Sunday September 24, 2017 @11:41PM (#55257389)

    So, in the future, anyone going to the moon will need to watch their step so they don't trip over all those oversized Fosters cans that'll be laying around everywhere.

    • by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 25, 2017 @12:09AM (#55257441)

      So, in the future, anyone going to the moon will need to watch their step so they don't trip over all those oversized Fosters cans that'll be laying around everywhere.

      If there's any Fosters cans it won't be us, we don't drink that filth - we ship it overseas for all of you.

    • by rtb61 ( 674572 )

      Nah, you just know once the publicity is over they will shut it down to further fund the http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais [ausport.gov.au] for most other countries that S would stand for science but in Australia it stands for stupid and the I can't spell one hundred pounds but I can lift it crowd. Why, because of votes brought about by government subsidised sports advertising, so Australia main stream media ultimately makes the bulk of the money and in return they fund their favourite corrupt politicians, to further fund sport

      • The problem isn't the AIS, it's that the funding model is wrong. State institutes and the AIS shouldn't compete for athletes, and athletes should pay back their scholarships (as with HECS/FEE-HELP/whatever it's called now) if they earn over some figure.

        In the absence of a space agency, the AIS produces most of Australia's non-defence technological spinoffs. I wrote firmware for a nanotech device developed in conjunction with the AIS. There are some really good scientists working there.

      • AIS is fine. You or I might not enjoy kick-ball, or batorb but millions of folks do.

        The problem is we have a retarded govt that managed to turn a world leading fibre to the home project into an even more expensive, later and vastly shittier copper to the home project because their policy is "Do the oposite of what the other party does and try and blame communists for some reason, even if they havent existed since the 70s in australia". And now we're spending a hundred mil on a flawed goddamn non binding sur

        • by rtb61 ( 674572 )

          That is still funding that should go to Australia's future, as in an Institute of Science and not subsidise sports advertising selling junk food, telling people to spectate and not participate.

    • Unlikely to find fosters can's in Aus, that shit is drunk by americans and other foreigners, we won't touch that stuff here.
    • Current government having a bad run in the poll??? Look over there !!! A shiny new distraction (insert pie in the sky distraction here, ie. Space Agency), polls?, what polls??? Call my cynical, yep, I am....

    • Pretty sure this is where all those nasty moon spiders come from...

    • by DeSigna ( 522207 )

      We won't be taking American tourists into space for a while - so no need to worry about giant Fosters-branded litter.

    • So, in the future, anyone going to the moon will need to watch their step so they don't trip over all those oversized Fosters cans that'll be laying around everywhere.

      No one in Australia drinks that crap so we need to get rid of it somewhere.

  • by Anonymous Coward

    These are the voyages of the AUS Boganprize, its continuing mission, to seek out and explore strange new sources of potable water, to boldly deforest where no cane toad has gone before...

  • I think that is our proposed launch technology.

  • by Anonymous Coward

    The CSIRO was a world leading space agency. See AUSSAT and FedSat, and the technology that is now mainstream throughout the world.

    But since CSIRO fails to deny climate change it is being disbanded.

    Hence our 'new' agencies; except for the climate change one.

    • by Anonymous Coward

      All behold the new Australian Space Society.

      • by Anonymous Coward

        This is Australia, mate.
        We'll call it the Australian Rocketry Space Enterprise.

        • by Megane ( 129182 )
          Is that part of the Commission for Urgent National Technology, or the Ministry of Advanced Technology Exploration?
    • The hell have you been smoking? CSIRO has, is and for the forseeable future will be a research organisation primarily designed for efficient industry which in Australia means better agriculture.

      The AUSSATs were launched by the Americans and the French. FedSat was put in space by the Japanese.

      The CSIRO isn't being disbanded in the slightest, it is merely cutting 1% of its workforce in divisions of mineral research, and was asked to reduce focus on climate research, but not on solutions to climate change.

      Hence our 'new' agencies

      Did

  • Astronauts Cosmonauts Taikonauts Aussienauts?
    • by dgatwood ( 11270 )

      At first, I assumed that the reason it took so long was that in every previous attempt, somebody got the idea of calling it the Australian Space Service, and the unamused among them decided it was better to scuttle the whole thing.

      Then, I realised that they spell it with an 'r' over there.

    • No need for yet another job title. "Taikonauts" isn't a Chinese title, by the way, this was thought up by some blogger. The Chinese space agency refers to its spacefaring personnel as "astronauts".

    • Surely Austronauts or Austranauts?

    • by DeSigna ( 522207 )

      We just call all our spacemates "Bruce".

      Ground crew are all named "Dave". Davo if you want to be less formal.

    • Except that in Australia our toilets don't swirl.. No siphon, all surface tension and hydrodynamics.
      A huge rush of water like a set of white water rapids and all is gone. :)

  • We have lots of space.

    Until you mention the word "immigrant".
  • misleading summary (Score:5, Informative)

    by hackertourist ( 2202674 ) on Monday September 25, 2017 @02:36AM (#55257809)

    50 years after Australia became the third country to launch a satellite into space,

    While it's true that a satellite was launched from Australian soil, this was part of the British space program, with Australian involvement not extending much beyond allowing the British to build their launch site. The launcher and satellite were developed and built in Britain.

  • More wasted money and effort trying to reinvent the wheel.

    If the nations of the world pooled their resources, funding and expertise into a single space program Humanity could have a self sustaining colony on both the moon and Mars within 15 years.

    But no.

    Instead Australia is going to spend how much money trying to get a "home grown" launch vehicle working? And how much more again to get an Australian into space on a rocket built in Australia by Australians?

    I wish Australia luck, seriously. Maybe they will

    • by Anonymous Coward

      Sounds great in theory, unfortunately human society doesn't work that way without a LOT of luck/effort. Just look at the launch industry here in the US for the past couple decades if you want a good example. Boeing & Lockheed were competing with each other and launch prices were at least staying stable if not dropping a bit, then they merged their launch branches. Shortly after creating ULA for "cost saving" their prices began a significant and steady rise, by some estimates they were closing in (or

  • Bonzer (Score:2, Funny)

    by Hognoxious ( 631665 )

    Strewth! Chuck another abo on the barbie and get me a tinnie out the eski, mate.

  • 50 years after Australia became the third country to launch a satellite into space, they had another big announcement.

    Australia's 1st satellite was launched November 29,1967. Canada's Alouette satellite made us Canucks the 3rd country behind the Soviet Union and the USA when it was launched September 29, 1962.
  • If they launch from the Grossglockner they are already out of the thickest part of the atmosphere.

  • by Anonymous Coward

    What a load of balls. Oz government wont even finance a decent, not great, just decent, internet standard for the whole of Australia. Because that would instantly invalidate several 'broadband' licences currently enjoying lucrative profits.

    As if they going to stump up a few billions to get it working, they cannot tax the population that much, it would mean 57% taxation across the board. And as we all know, that just means those who can pay, wont. Oz is a nice place, but it just cannot afford to play space r

  • by Anonymous Coward

    Now they just have to dig a big tunnel through the earth, so they can launch from down under.

    • by Anonymous Coward

      They are going to have to build an island too, because if they dig straight through the middle of the earth, they are going to end up in the middle of the North Atlantic.
      https://www.antipodesmap.com/

  • by dohzer ( 867770 ) on Monday September 25, 2017 @06:13AM (#55258337)

    I think a good name for it would be National Australian Space Agency.

  • That's one advantage of a country that does not have the laws of mathematics apply to them - it makes rocket science much easier!
  • was the UK with Ariel 1 in 1962 [wikipedia.org], 5 years prior to Australia's WRESAT satellite, followed by Canada's Alouette 1 and Italy's San Marco 1 in 1964. However, all of these were launched on US American rockets, and therefore do not qualify as self-launches. The statement 'third country to launch a satellite" alludes to the space race which in those days was about the prestige of having an access to space, the satellites in themselves where rudimentary and of little impact in that initial race. Therefore, if on
  • rocket scientist edition.
  • It's always Rhonda's fault.

Basic is a high level languish. APL is a high level anguish.

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