The Australian space industry has come together to showcase and celebrate growth in a large number of areas at the sold-out 9th Space Forum, hosted by South Australian Space Industry Centre (SASIC) in Adelaide on Wednesday.
The bi-annual South Australian (SA) event, which attracts a variety of space industry stakeholders – such as start-ups, established space businesses, industry specialists and heavy-weight Defence Prime companies, focused on the growth of the Australian space sector along with national and international trends, R&D, education and access to space.
Special guests at the event included Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Minister for Industry and Science Karen Andrews, SA Premier Steven Marshall, Head of the Australian Space Agency, Dr. Megan Clark, President of the Italian Space Agency, Dr. Giorgio Saccoccia and Dr. Christyl Johnson – Deputy Director (technology and research investments) of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre.
The day began with the Australian Space Agency officially opening its headquarters in a ribbon-cutting event by the Prime Minister, Minister of Industry, SA Premier and Space Agency head, at LotFourteen – the dedicated entrepreneurial hub in the heart of Adelaide city.
Special dignitaries then made their way over to the SASIC space forum event at the Adelaide convention centre, for opening introductions before an emotional Mr Nicola Sasanelli described how the event has grown over the last four years – from a small group of 80 industry attendees to over a sold-out crowd of over a thousand.
Head of the Australian Space Agency, Dr. Megan Clark showcased the progress made by the agency, including a $1.6 billion civil space capital pipeline as at December 2019, generated from 170 space-related projects across Australia.
This was followed by a special announcement from the President of the Italian Space Agency, Dr. Giorgio Saccoccia, who referred to Australia’s newly established industry as “our little sister” – pledging to fund the launch of an Australian payload on a European rocket, to the International Space Station.