SGAC Australia

National Points of Contact 
Australia

Australia was the fourth nation to launch a satellite, WRESAT, into space, and one of the original members of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). With the Australian Space Agency initially announced in 2017 at the International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide, Australia has now set its sights on tripling the size of its space industry by 2030, providing up to 30,000 jobs in the sector.

Australia’s civil space priority areas include:

    • position, navigation and timing
    • earth observation
    • communications technologies and services
    • space situational awareness and debris monitoring 
    • leapfrog research & development
    • robotics and automation on Earth and in space
    • access to space

Notable space-related facilities in Australia include the Woomera Test Range, Advanced Instrumentation and Technology Centre (AITC), Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, Square Kilometre Array and Lot Fourteen.

Australia’s space strategy is Advancing Space – Australian Civil Space Strategy 2019 – 2028‘ with key policy/legislation under the Space (Launches and Returns) Act 2018.

With the launch of the Australian Space Agency and the legacy left behind by the International Astronautical Congress, there is a huge amount of appetite for Australia to excel in the space sector. With that comes ever increasing opportunities, projects and educational programs for Australians to be involved in space from a very young age.

Young Space Activities Overview in Australia

There are many opportunities to participate in Australia’s emerging space future. Contact your NPoCs to discover where you could fit!

School:

Australian Youth Aerospace Forum (AYAF) – Held annually for Year 11 and 12 students

Junior Space Design Competition (JSDC) – School team competition for Year 5-8 students

Space Design Workshop (SDW) – School team competition for Year 7-9 students

Australian Space Design Competition (ASDC) – School team competition for Year 11-12 students

Queensland Gateway to Industry Schools Program – Aerospace – an initiative by the Queensland Government to teach aerospace as a senior subject in Queensland high schools, backed by aerospace industry

Hamilton Space Academy – a program for students in years 7-10, involving space-related events and a Space Camp

Victorian Space Science Education Centre – offering space science related educational tours for junior and senior school students

University:

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) – Sydney Chapter and UNSW Chapter

Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS)

Australian Youth Aerospace Association (AYAA), including:

    • Aerospace Futures – a three-day conference for students to network with aerospace industry professionals
    • Australian University Rocket Competition (AURC) – student teams are all over Australia at most universities offering engineering degrees
    • ASTRA – a working group based event with the end deliverable being a white paper submitted to the space industry

Melbourne Space Program

ISU/UniSA Southern Hemisphere Summer Space Program – a five-week interdisciplinary space course held over January and February in Adelaide.

Young professionals:

Space Industry Association of Australia – offers a database of space-related companies in Australia

Mars Society Australia (MSA)

Industry professionals can meet up at various industry conferences and events, such as Aerospace Futures, during the year.

Studies

The below universities offer space-related degrees (undergraduate and post-graduate) across engineering and science:

Australian Capital Territory

Australian National University

Australian Defence Force Academy/University of New South Wales Canberra

New South Wales

The University of Sydney

University of New South Wales (UNSW)

Macquarie University

University of Newcastle

University of Wollongong 

Western Sydney University

Queensland

The University of Queensland

Queensland University of Technology

Griffith University

University of Southern Queensland

South Australia

The University of Adelaide

University of South Australia

Tasmania

University of Tasmania

Victoria

Monash University

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT)

Swinburne University

LaTrobe University

Western Australia

Curtin University

University of Western Australia