Media releases

AUSTRALIA'S SPACE PROGRAM NEEDS SUPPORT
27 September 1995

The Australian Academy of Science has called on the Federal Government to increase support for the National Space Program. The call is made in a submission to the Interdepartmental Committee on International Space, which is reviewing the progress and the future of the space program.

The Academy's Secretary (Science Policy), Dr Keith Boardman, said, 'Australia has considerable achievements in space science and technology: in 1967 we launched the WRESAT satellite, becoming the third nation to launch a satellite from its own territory. But the country's space program is now too small to be useful or sustainable. Without a great increase in funding - to a level that is still below some Asian countries it will not produce worthwhile results.'

'The Commonwealth Government funds the National Space Program in order to build high-technology industries in Australia. Space science is the starting point for a space program and space-related industries - both depend on the skill and inventions of scientists. Australia's space program needs to place more emphasis on space science in order to gain the industrial benefits the government is hoping for.'

In its submission the Academy recommends:

• The Australian Government provide at least $20 million per year for the development of a useful and sustainable space program. The capability for payload and satellite manufacture should have a higher priority than launch capability.
• 10 per cent of the program budget be committee to a sustainable and recognisable space science component with the capability to build flight instrumentation.
• In order to gain access to expensive data, such as that from other countries' weather satellites, Australia should contribute space instrumentation to international consortiums.

Copies of the submission are available at http://www.science.org.au/reports/spacesub.htm.