The Now Frontier: Developing Australia’s Space Industry

Chair’s Foreword

Space is an industry that inspires, fascinates and excites people. Generally, rockets and astronauts come to mind when we think about the space industry, but its technology and equipment are very much a part of our day-to-day lives. There are enormous opportunities for individuals, organisations, and communities to take advantage of this growing sector, particularly in rural and regional areas.

Australians are most familiar with our nation’s involvement in the moon landing. In 1969, tracking stations at Honeysuckle Creek and Parkes in New South Wales, relayed images back to Earth of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldren walking on the moon. This followed the rocket testing program in the late 1950’s at Woomera in South Australia as part of the Australian Government’s Weapons Research Establishment.

Perhaps less familiar to Australians is the continued use of space-based technologies and applications in our daily life. Mobile phones, the internet, weather forecasting, GPS technology and banking services all rely on data derived from space. Space related technologies were once considered those of the future – robots, drones, remote sensors, and artificial intelligence – but are very much where we are now. For Australia to be competitive, we need to not only foster these technologies and their applications but ensure we have people with the right skills and expertise to make it happen.

The pace at which space-based technologies and innovation are developing is set to revolutionise the way we live. Space 2.0 refers to utilising and accessing space here on Earth. It includes a range of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, remote sensing, smart sensors, nanotechnology, microelectronics, big data, robotics, drones, autonomous systems, quantum computing and the internet of things. The significance of Space 2.0 is that it will create the jobs of the future…