About 770 Australian entities are already developing space-related infrastructure, most of which are privately owned.
Experiments performed in microgravity – like this one in the International Space Station by astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti – can give us data not able to be gathered on Earth.
NASA
On Earth the flame from a struck match looks like an inverted teardrop shape and is orange. In microgravity, that same flame is spherical and blue. Heat transfer is different with minimal gravity.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, US, May 2019.
NASA Kennedy
This are looking up when it comes to launching things into space from Australia. The rules on what can be launched are currently under review and open for comment.
Smiles from Prime Minister Scott Morrison and SA Premier Steven Marshall as the location of Australia’s Space Agency is revealed to be Adelaide, South Australia.
Sam Wundke/AAP
We’ve launched rockets from Woomera in South Australia, but in reality Australia could support multiple launch sites. And the closer to the equator, typically the better.
Ultimately, the future of work depends on what we want our future society to look like.
Shutterstock
Young people are the most vulnerable as industry and the labour market undergo radical change, but meeting this challenge could just be a matter of plugging existing gaps.
A promise of new jobs from Australia’s new space agency.
Shutterstock/Harvepino
New jobs and investment for Australia’s growing space industry are promised with the backing of the new space agency. It’s hoped that all states and territories will benefit from a national approach.
Small satellites are launched to Low Earth Orbit - and then eventually burn up.
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So long as small satellites are in low Earth orbit – and most likely they will be – the Earth’s “vacuum cleaner” will clean them up.
Andy Thomas is one of the few Australian-born applicants who has became an astronaut. Will there be more with an Australian space agency?
Tracey Nearmy/AAP
Funding for Australia’s Space Agency is expected to be announced at Tuesday’s federal budget. It’s been a long campaign to get an agency up and running and The Conversation has followed the journey.
We’re all waiting to hear what shape Australia’s Space Agency will take.
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What will Australia’s space agency look like? Two experts agree it needs deliberate investment from government, and that it should facilitate participation across states and territories.
Three new reports examine Australia’s existing space capabilities, set them in the light of international developments, and identify growth areas and models for Australia to pursue.
136319147@N08/flickr
Space is becoming cheaper, more attractive to investors and increasingly important in our data-rich economy. It’s time Australia mapped a path forward.
Right now there are more than 20,000 objects in space.
NASA
Weather forecasting, bushfire management, power and water supply: Australia relies on earth observations to the tune of A$5 billion a year. But we have very little control over the data we get.
Space isn’t just about rockets and missions to Mars: Australia must invest in space-based infrastructure to manage our resources.
David Moir/AAP
There are local, practical implications linked to failed advancement of infrastructure projects that rely on expertise in space. Protecting Australia’s water is just one example.
ARC Laureate Fellow and Winthrop Research Professor at the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, UWA., The University of Western Australia