Science Minister Dave Kelly will today welcome the Director General of the European Space Agency, Professor Jan Woerner, to Western Australia with the visit highlighting our potential to be the home of the proposed Australian space agency.
The Minister and WA’s Chief Scientist, Peter Klinken AC, will join Professor Woerner as he visits the ESA’s ground station at New Norcia, one of only three deep space ground stations operated worldwide by the agency.
The New Norcia station has played a pivotal role in communications for major space missions such as Rosetta and Mars Express.
Today’s visit emphasises the crucial role WA plays in the global space industry, and showcases our State as a leading contender to be the base of the Federal Government’s proposed national space agency.
In WA we already participate in ground-based satellite and deep space tracking, tracking and monitoring of space debris, defence testing, optical and radio astronomy, space research, ‘big data’ management and processing, geospatial data, and precision engineering.
In August, the McGowan Government made a submission to the Federal Government’s review of Australia’s Space Industry Capability. This submission highlighted the many areas of the space sector in which Western Australia is a key contributor.