A risky experiment – funding Australia’s space industry

“In the past few years, Australia has formed its own space agency and launched a defence “space command”. Billions of dollars for defence, and hundreds of millions for civilian space, have been allocated from the public purse to develop capability in this growing sector.

This funding covers the Moon-to-Mars Program, the SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre, the Modern Manufacturing Initiative, opportunities in defence, various state-funded projects such as SA-SAT, and more.

This level of investment is unquestionably a good thing. But the great majority of it supports applied research and engineering, and commercialisation of outcomes. None of the new funding goes to basic research.”

We speak to Professor Phil Bland, Director, Space Science and Technology Centre, Curtin University about the risky experiment Australia is undertaking in its funding of the national space industry.

To read the full article visit: https://theconversation.com/australia…

For Professor Bland’s profile and contact – visit https://staffportal.curtin.edu.au/sta…

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