The ACT government has teamed up with the South Australian government to put Australia in the space race.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr and South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill signed a memorandum of understanding between their two governments on Monday. It would help the two jurisdictions work together to develop Australia's space industry.
Speaking at the Mount Stromlo Observatory, the pair hoped to get other jurisdictions on board and called on the Commonwealth to show more leadership.
"I think that lack of leadership that we've seen in recent times federally really belies the capability we have in this country," Mr Barr said.
"Let's be clear that since we've put this on the [Council of Australian Governments] agenda, the Northern Territory, Western Australia, New South Wales, other states are wanting to bring forward their capabilities.
"Hopefully we'll drag the Commonwealth over the line with us."
Mr Weatherill said developments in the space industry had lead to technologies such as kevlar, now widely used in cars and body armour.
"That's the way in which space can actually create advance manufacturing and we can be very much at the centre of that," he said.
The gathering of data on space and the cooperation of scientists had the potential to help us better understand our own planet, Mr Weatherill said.
"Space is just a massive growth opportunity for our nation," he said.
The Chief Minister will travel to the International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide on September 25 to show off Canberra's space industry players, including the ANU.
In 2015, a report estimated Australia's space industry was worth between $3 and $4 billion.
Mount Stromlo's Space Environment Research Centre was recently tasked with clearing 170 million pieces of space garbage to protect infrastructure in orbit.
The Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex in the ACT is part of the NASA's Deep Space Network. Its its most recent role was guiding the two Voyager space probes.
Developments through projects for National Aeronautics and Space Administration alone have improved firefighting equipment, baby food and water filtration amongst others.
