Philip Smart | Adelaide
The 2017 International Astronautical Congress has kicked off in Adelaide with more than 4000 registered delegates, a new record for the annual space industry event.
The Congress is the international space industry’s annual gathering to discuss current issues, innovations and progress on “every conceivable aspect of space activity”, with around 180 presentations on subjects from commercial operations to Mars missions, big data and on-orbit satellite servicing.
Delegates include the heads of major commercial companies and international space agencies, including former NASA administrator Charles F. Bolden, renowned US science educator (and now solar sail proponent) Bill Nye and SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk.
The Australian Federal Government used day one of the Congress to announce that Australia will create its own national space agency, after a recent concerted push by the already active Australian space industry.
Michael Davis, Chair of the Space Industry Association of Australia (SIAA) and Chair of the IAC Local Organising Committee said the SIAA is thrilled with the announcement.
"It is exciting news for our industry, research and education sector,” he said. “The aim is to deliver clear economic benefit to the Australian economy and of course, to re-enforce our status as a participant of long-standing in the development of outer space.
"Australia has always played a significant role, but we have fallen behind the major nations, especially the European ones and now we can quickly play catch up in this $US330 billion industry. We have the capacity, the science, the skills, the research and development environment, the culture, the industry nous. Now we have the standing of the Australian Space Agency."
The industry has been quick to respond, with Lockheed Martin and Boeing reiterating their commitment to space-related research in Australia during the conference.
On Tuesday Boeing announced that Virtual Reality technology developed in Brisbane would be used to provide high-resolution interactive simulation for the CST-100 Starliner, a seven-person low earth orbit capsule being developed for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Boeing has signed an agreement with Melbourne VR supplier Opaque Space to collaborate on future virtual reality space training scenarios, including docking with the International Space Station, for the Starliner.
And on Wednesday Lockheed Martin announced partnerships with the University of Sydney on developing photonic-based filters for microwave Radio Frequency (RF) signal processing, and with RMIT on advances in metallic additive manufacturing processes and materials, particularly for high-strength lightweight alloys that have significant implications for aerospace applications.
The IAC concludes on Friday 29 September with presentations on missions to Mars by Lockheed Martin and by SpaceX.