Aude Vignelles, Australian Space Agency; Marie Le Pellec, Australian Space Agency; Frank Gallagher, Australian Space Agency
Keywords: Australian Space Agency, Roadmap, SSA, Responsible, methodology, strategy
Abstract:
The space sector has dramatically evolved in the last years, with space becoming more affordable and accessible. Historical institutional actors have been joined by private entities, creating new opportunities as well as major challenges. The coming decade will show an even more substantial change, as large satellite constellations will add thousands of new satellites those already in orbit. This evolution, in players and numbers of satellites in space, puts sustainable use of space and its regulation at the forefront of international discussions.
Although Australia has a deep legacy of space activity, the Australian Space Agency (the Agency) is a young agency emerging in a new space era. The purpose of the Agency is to transform and grow a globally respected Australian space industry that lifts the broader economy, inspires and improves the lives of Australians underpinned by strong international and national engagement. The Advancing Space, the Australian Civil Space Strategy 201928, sets out a 10-year path to guide the growth of the Australias space sector, and identifies 7 National Civil Space Priorities that build on Australias areas of strength.
The Agency is now implementing the second phase of this Space Strategy by developing technology roadmaps to outline potential investment in these priorities: the Space Situational Awareness (SSA) roadmap is listed as one of the 7 priorities, and is scheduled to be published by end of 2021. It comprises a vision and ambition for SSA in Australia for the next 10 years that reflect the support to a rapid industry growth while being a responsible nation in space. The roadmap methodology adopted by the Agency is built on a robust consultation process with industry, academia, government agencies and international counterparts. This paper outlines the SSA roadmap approach, providing the details of each phase, from implementing the Technical Advisory Group, identifying market gaps and opportunities, to setting targets and a pathway to achieve the SSA roadmap vision and ambition.
The entire SSA value chain is assessed: orbital objects and natural space environment sensors creating raw data that requires conditioning, fusion and analytics to generate a final product with added value. The roadmap also includes debris mitigation technologies, aiming to use spacecraft manoeuvrability and end of life approaches for a more sustainable use of space.
The focus segments chosen in the roadmap are defined by user needs (commercial or institutional) meeting a specific Australian strength to form a competitive advantage for the Australian space industry. The paper also shows the role of enablers, or facilitators in the roadmap logic. Regulation is a key facilitator for SSA and is a focus point of the work undertaken in the roadmap development: it consists of norms, standards, licensing processes as well as industry driven approaches. Governance and coordination are another key facilitators: SSA requires national and international, civil and defence coordination to achieve a responsible and sustainable use of space. In conclusion, the article describes the targets and pathways that will drive the 10 next years of development, as summarised in the Agencys SSA roadmap.
Date of Conference: September 14-17, 2021
Track: SSA/SDA