Australia in Space Magazine, Issue 8, 2024

This edition follows our coverage of the Global Space & Technology Convention, Singapore, Geo Connect Asia, Singapore, and International Global Navigation Satellite Systems (IGNSS) Conference, Sydney. We are also pleased to announce a strategic media partnership with The Andy Thomas Space Foundation, organisers of the Australian Space Forum.

The space sector started 2024 at a rapid pace, with 14 launches from five countries in just the first month. January started with a launch on New Year’s Day by India’s Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and closed with Rocket Lab launching an electron rocket from their New Zealand spaceport.

ISRO’s first launch for the year (local time) used a PSLV-DL rocket, which took into orbit a X-ray astronomy satellite and a multi-experiment payload module. There were also ten attached payloads on the PSLV’s fourth stage, which will perform various experiments for Indian research institutions.

China is shooting for a record 100 space launches this year, second only to the United States, and streaking ahead of other space nations. As of March 25, the country has conducted 13 launches so far this year.

On March 20, a Long March 8 rocket carrying a Queqiao-2 satellite successfully launched from the Wenchang spaceport in the Hainan province. The satellite will act as a communications relay between ground operations on Earth and an upcoming mission to the moon’s far side…