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SILICON SILIC CHIP www.siliconchip.com.au Publisher Leo Simpson, B.Bus., FAICD Editor Nicholas Vinen Technical Editor John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.) Technical Staff Ross Tester Jim Rowe, B.A., B.Sc Bao Smith, B.Sc Photography Ross Tester Reader Services Ann Morris Advertising Enquiries Glyn Smith Phone (02) 9939 3295 Mobile 0431 792 293 glyn<at>siliconchip.com.au Regular Contributors Dave Thompson David Maddison B.App.Sc. (Hons 1), PhD, Grad.Dip.Entr.Innov. Geoff Graham Associate Professor Graham Parslow Ian Batty Cartoonist Brendan Akhurst SILICON CHIP is published 12 times a year by Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd. ACN 003 205 490. ABN 49 003 205 490. All material is copyright ©. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Subscription rates: $105.00 per year in Australia. For overseas rates, see www. siliconchip.com.au/subscriptions Editorial office: Unit 1 (up ramp), 234 Harbord Rd, Brookvale, NSW 2100. Postal address: PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097. Phone (02) 9939 3295. E-mail: silicon<at>siliconchip.com.au Printing and Distribution: Derby Street, Silverwater, NSW 2148. Editorial Viewpoint Let’s be realistic about an Australian space industry On page 13 of this issue we bring you the story of WRESAT: Australia’s first satellite, launched in 1969. The author, Dr David Maddison, laments that this could have been the start of an Australian space industry. But no! Fifty years later, the Australian Federal Government has announced a review into our domestic space industry capabilities. Announced on 13th July this year, it is expected to be completed by end of March 2018. In support of this, at least one Australian space-based start-up company has “urged the government to commit to a new space agency”, according to an article in The Australian (“Red tape holding back our rockets”, 25th August 2017). But just how feasible is an Australian Space Agency? If red tape is holding back our rockets, would increasing the government’s involvement necessarily improve the situation? Consider that NASA was the world’s premier space agency for many decades but now they are a shadow of their former selves – thanks mainly to government. Of the 62 resupply missions to the International Space Station this decade, 32 were carried out using Russian rockets and spacecraft, four by the EU and five by Japan. Of the remaining 21 flights which used US-built rockets, nearly twothirds (13) were Falcon 9 rockets built by private firm SpaceX. NASA used to drive US space innovation but now it’s companies like SpaceX who are driving the technology. There is probably a reason for this; governments are not good at running large, complex engineering operations. Most would agree that rolling out a broadband network is not nearly as complex as a space program and yet Australia seems to be incapable of doing that in a smooth manner within any kind of sensible budget. An Australian government-run space agency is likely to be a similar morass. Let’s be realistic, Australia’s population is too small and we’re too remote to support a huge space industry. After all, we couldn’t even support an automotive industry without massive cash handouts. But we do have some unique attributes which could make us a valuable and lucrative part of the global space industry. We have some great launch facilities, including Woomera, and a lot of empty space to play with. It would definitely make sense for Woomera to be shared between the Department of Defence and industry and the DoD could even benefit from commercially built and maintained launch facilities. Defence would also benefit from the improvement in local expertise that a commercial space industry would bring. We also have a lot of great engineers and scientists, some of whom are already involved in designing and building satellites and other space hardware. We should definitely be open to more collaboration but it would probably be a waste of money to establish our own dedicated space program. Remember also that most countries with a successful government-run space program (and thus the ability to launch satellites) have achieved it as the sideeffect of a military rocket program. Despite the recent alarming events in North Korea, I don’t think we’re ever going to develop any long-range missiles. If we are going to launch satellites, it will probably be on top of foreign-built rockets. So, given the fact that the global space industry is increasingly being privatised and also that large companies are increasingly becoming global operations, with design and manufacturing spread out over the planet, the Australian space industry is unlikely to rival that of countries like the USA. But we should still participate as we stand to benefit greatly from doing so. ISSN 1030-2662 Recommended & maximum price only. 2 Silicon Chip Nicholas Vinen Celebrating Years Celebrating 3030 Years siliconchip.com.au