http://www.skyandtelescope.com.au 41partners, all with investments in South Australia, including
Airbus, Sitael and Nova Systems,” she said. “Fleet Space
Technologies and Myriota, both South-Australian start-ups,
have launched satellites and a payload that can help our
farmers and other industries use space to monitor sensor
networks to improve the productivity of their businesses.”
Dr Clarke said that prior to the announcement there had
been five months of activity such as releasing the Agency’s
charter, supporting the passage of legislation and the
signing of memoranda of understanding with international
counterparts. She added that the Agency will continue to
engage with stakeholders around the nation to “discuss how
we can collectively grow our space industry”.
Dr Clarke said that “we’re already getting the support from
around the world and from industry. We’ve got a pipeline
over the next three years of over a billion [dollars] of capital
being invested into the space industry. Half a billion of that
is inbound capital coming in from industry and from other
space agencies around the world.”
Flavia Tata Nardini, CEO and co-founder of Fleet Space
Technologies, said she is excited that South Australia has
been selected as the home of the Australian Space Agency.
Fleet Space Technologies is deploying a constellation of
small satellites that will provide an Internet of Things
communications network in the sky, which will connect andS Fleet Space Technologies’ CEO, Flavia Tata Nardini, holding a model
of one of Fleet’s satellites.collect data from myriad sensors on the ground.
“We have an amazing space culture here: the South
Australian Space Innovation Centre (SASIC) has been
an excellent hub for the more than 70 space-related
organisations here, and has been a huge advocate for the work
we’ve been doing — without them we wouldn’t have been able
to launch four satellites in just four weeks!” she said.
In other space news, CSIRO has signed an agreement with
the European Space Agency (ESA) to take over maintenance
and operational support for ESA’s space tracking station at
New Norcia, 130 kilometres north of Perth. New Norcia
provides tracking, communication and data download
services for ESA’s deep space missions, as well as support for
other space agencies under resource-sharing agreements.
“The facility at New Norcia has been in operation
since 2003 and now, for the first time, an Australian
organisation will provide critical maintenance and
operational support at the station,” Minister Andrews said.
“Through its management of NASA’s Canberra Deep Space
Communication Complex, as well as Australia’s leading radio
astronomy facilities, CSIRO has rich experience operating
large, complex infrastructure for spacecraft tracking and
astronomy research.” FLEET SPACE TECHNOLOGIES