The University of Tasmania will help Australia track satellites, space debris and other hazards as one of three university nodes in a new $5 million ARC Training Centre.
The five-year Centre will bring PhD candidates and a postdoctoral researcher to Tasmania and help build mission-control capability to coordinate space-monitoring operations.
Led by the University of Western Australia in partnership with the University of Tasmania and UNSW Canberra, the ARC Training Centre for Space Domain Awareness will involve 22 national and international partner organisations. Contributions from the universities and partners bring its total value to $20 million.
Satellites enable navigation for ships, aircraft and vehicles, connect remote communities, support weather forecasting and monitor changes on Earth. Yet they operate in increasingly crowded orbits alongside defunct spacecraft, fragments of debris and natural objects travelling at extraordinary speeds.
Knowing what is above us, where it is heading and whether it poses a threat has become essential to protecting the services modern life depends on.
Research Space Scientist Dr Guifré Molera Calvés, from the University's School of Natural Sciences, said Australia needed a clearer picture of what was happening in space.
"Space is becoming more crowded, more strategically important and increasingly complex to manage," Dr Molera Calvés said.
"To protect the services we depend on every day, we need to know what is in orbit, where the objects are heading and whether they pose a risk to satellites, infrastructure or other space users."
The Centre will integrate data from sensors across Australia to provide a more comprehensive picture of activity in orbit. It will unite industry, launch companies, satellite providers, government organisations and universities in a coordinated national approach to space surveillance and tracking.
But knowing where objects are is only part of the challenge. As space becomes busier, an increasingly important question emerges: when an object poses a threat or causes damage, who is responsible?
The University team includes Dr Molera Calvés, Adjunct Professor Tony Press from the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), and Professor Jeffrey McGee from IMAS and Law.
Professor McGee said managing an increasingly busy space environment will require international cooperation as well as better technology.
"As more governments and private companies use space, international rules must keep pace with the emerging risks and opportunities," Professor McGee said.
The project will help the University coordinate space-monitoring operations and ground services already operating in Tasmania.
It will connect the University's strengths in radio astronomy and space science with Antarctic research, data analysis, law and governance.
Adjunct Professor Press said the growth of space activity also raised important questions for Antarctica.
"Space domain awareness is becoming increasingly important in Antarctica," Adjunct Professor Press said.
"As technology develops rapidly, it is important to ensure Antarctica remains free from military activity and conflict. There are also growing concerns about environmental management and operational safety as the space above Antarctica becomes busier."
The Tasmania-based researchers will work with more than 10 industry partners
across Australia, Finland, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
"This is an opportunity to train a new generation of space researchers in Tasmania while building the capability Australia will need in the years ahead," Dr Molera Calvés said.
"They will work on an international challenge from Tasmania, alongside leading researchers and industry partners around the world."
The Australian Research Council will provide $5 million over five years to the Centre through its Industrial Transformation Research Program.
